Attorney General Pam Bondi faced intense questioning Monday during a House budget hearing, as lawmakers raised growing concerns about the influx of Iranian nationals into the United States under the Biden administration amid rising threats tied to escalating tensions with Tehran.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) pressed Bondi on whether the Department of Justice had data on how many Iranian nationals currently in the U.S. have been convicted of crimes.
Bondi acknowledged she didn’t have a specific number but pointed to a troubling figure: more than 1,000 Iranian nationals reportedly crossed the U.S. border illegally during the last administration.
“And I can tell you,” Bondi said, “we are on high alert, and everyone is looking at that very closely.” Bondi’s testimony came just one day after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a bulletin warning that the ongoing Iran conflict has created a “heightened threat environment” inside the United States.
The DHS warned of the risk of “independent mobilization to violence” by individuals in the U.S. should Iranian leadership issue any directive, as well as potential cyberattacks and a surge in antisemitic incidents.
According to a senior Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official, 1,504 Iranian nationals have been apprehended at the southern border during President Joe Biden’s term, with 729 of them released into the U.S. — a figure that has alarmed both lawmakers and national security experts.
Sleeper Cell Concerns and Growing Scrutiny
Gonzales also raised concerns about the potential presence of Iranian “sleeper cells” within the country — a chilling prospect that Bondi declined to elaborate on during the public hearing.
“I cannot talk about that in this setting,” she said, suggesting the issue may be classified or under active investigation.
The exchange took place during a hearing focused on the Department of Justice’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, but the conversation quickly turned toward national security as tensions between Iran, Israel, and the United States reached new heights following a dramatic weekend of military escalation.
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