On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was in Del Rio, Texas, just one week from graduating from pilot training. The horrific terrorist attacks on our nation that day not only altered the course of my life but also revealed the defining fight of our generation.
After graduating, I served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, flying combat missions in the F-22 against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The lessons I learned from 9/11 and my combat service remain with me: our enemies are always watching, adapting, and waiting.
This reality guides my work today as a member of Congress and chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, where troubling trends confirm that terror threats remain very real.
The current administration’s open-border policies have created serious vulnerabilities in our national security. Since April 2021, dangerous actors with known terror ties have crossed into the country, with over 50 jihadist terror cases reported across 30 states. Compounding this, Customs and Border Protection has recorded nearly 400 encounters with individuals on the terror watchlist during the same period. While authorities have taken action to identify and deport many of these individuals, it is unknown how many terrorists may have slipped through the cracks and are now living among us.
Even more alarming is how terror threats to the homeland have evolved since 9/11, becoming more technologically sophisticated. Today, terrorist organizations like ISIS, al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah are exploiting advanced technologies and global digital networks to wage war in ways that are harder to detect and stop. They are weaponizing encrypted messaging apps to communicate and coordinate attacks, as well as leveraging artificial intelligence to spread propaganda and radicalize lone wolf actors.
These emerging technologies have become the new battlefield. In response, I am leading efforts in Congress to combat these actors through legislation. My “Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act” would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct annual assessments on how terrorist groups are leveraging AI. Additionally, my “Countering Online Radicalization and Terrorism Act” would mandate that DHS conduct annual threat assessments on terrorism risks posed by terrorist organizations that exploit foreign, cloud-based messaging applications.
The United States cannot afford to fall behind these rapidly evolving threats. National security depends on our ability to be proactive, which requires bold leadership. The policies of former President Donald Trump, for instance, prioritized counterterrorism by securing our borders and deporting internal threats. His administration also rescinded limits on counterterrorism strikes, returning decision-making power to commanders in the field rather than centralizing it with Washington bureaucrats.
In an era of ever-evolving threats, we must remember the lesson of 9/11: freedom demands constant vigilance, unwavering resolve, and a readiness to confront evil before it reaches our shores. Turning a blind eye or negotiating from a position of weakness only emboldens our enemies. We must keep this lesson at the forefront of our policymaking and remain relentless in our resolve to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.
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