Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has called for a Department of Homeland Security review of every visa approved by the Biden administration for applicants from high-risk countries.
Cotton made the request in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday in the wake of the arrest of a "Gazan citizen" living in Louisiana who allegedly took part in Hamas' massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 more on Oct. 7, 2023.
Federal prosecutors in Louisiana charged Mahmoud Amin Ya'qub al-Muhtadi earlier this month with participating in the Hamas-led attack on Israel and with entering the United States on a fraudulent visa.
"I urge DHS to conduct an audit of all visas issued through high-risk countries since 2021, prioritizing potential affiliations with Hamas or other designated terrorist groups," Cotton wrote in the letter.
Cotton noted that "thousands of visa applications from Palestinians have been processed through Egypt, often without adequate review of digital footprints or terrorist watchlist cross-checks."
Cotton said Al-Muhtadi "applied for a visa through the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, falsely denying his paramilitary training and terrorist affiliations."
"Despite blatant evidence of these activities on his social media," Cotton added, "the Biden administration approved his application, granting him legal permanent resident status and entry into the United States."
Prosecutors contend the acts violate federal laws governing terrorist activity, visa fraud, and providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations.
The complaint also documents a careful trail of travel and aliases.
Prosecutors say al-Muhtadi moved through third countries before arriving in the United States, seeking to conceal his identity and militant background.
Records indicate he arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Sept. 12, 2024, later settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before moving to Lafayette, Louisiana, where he was eventually arrested.
Investigators traced communications and financial links tying him to Hamas operatives abroad, and they say that at times he used alternative names to evade detection.
The complaint calls him a "high-value target" whose presence in the U.S. posed "a grave threat to national security."
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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