House Republicans are demanding the Department of Justice explain why two illegal immigrants from Jordan were allowed to post bail after being charged with trying to infiltrate Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
More than a dozen GOP lawmakers, led by Reps. Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Chip Roy of Texas, wrote a letter Monday to Jessica Aber, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the New York Post reported. In it, they criticized the decision to allow Hasan Yousef Hamdan, 32, and Mohammad Khair Dabous, 28, to post bail on the condition they show up to court for their immigration proceedings in September and stay away from Quantico and other military bases.
Hamdan and Dabous were released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention even though Hamdan had crossed into the country illegally in April and Dabous had overstayed his student visa and was subject to removal proceedings, the Post reported.
Both were arrested on May 3 for trespassing onto the base and handed over to ICE officers because of their immigration statuses. It is unknown why they tried to breach the base, which is home to the FBI Academy and FBI Laboratory, as well as a Defense Intelligence Agency facility and several major Marine Corps commands — including the unit that flies the Marine One presidential helicopter.
"The release of these two illegal aliens is egregious, especially in light of recent reports which state that one of the aliens was on a terror watchlist," the letter stated, a copy of which was posted on X.
Homeland Security records obtained by the Post didn't state that either is on a terror watchlist. But Judicial Watch reported Aug. 5 that a Marine Serious Incident Report (SIR) on what happened that day showed Hamden was on a terror watch list, even though ICE has consistently denied it.
The men claimed they worked for an Amazon subcontractor and were seeking to get on base to make a delivery, Capt. Michael Curtis, a spokesman for the base, told the Post. Dabous, driving a white box truck, according to the SIR report, still tried to drive the truck onto the base, ignoring the guards' instructions. They were stopped by additional anti-vehicle barriers. The SIR report said an ICE officer, whose name was redacted, "telephonically confirmed" to the Marine Criminal Investigations Division that "Hamdan was on a terror watchlist," the report said.
When Hamdan and Dabous were released in early June from ICE detention, they posted bail, with Hamdan's set at $15,000 and Dabous' at $10,000. They were charged with misdemeanor trespassing on military property and appeared before a judge for the first time on July 22, the Post reported.
"The pair were released despite not only their statuses as illegal aliens who are subject to removal but also their having trespassed on a U.S. military installation, an act which is potentially connected to current or future terrorist activity," the lawmakers wrote. "Furthermore, their release was conditioned on a promise to appear in court at a future date despite the fact that a large number of illegal aliens released with similar agreements never attend their future court proceedings.
"It is clear now this administration values the desires of illegal aliens — including those who intend to commit acts of terror — over the safety of American citizens."
The lawmakers requested Aber provide several answers to them by Aug. 31, including whether her office believed Hamdan and Dabous posed any threat to Americans in light of their criminal conduct and the location at which it occurred; whether reports that Hamdan was on a terror watchlist changed her office's consideration of releasing them on bail; and whether it was possible the men were testing the base's security to plan a future terrorist attack.
Newsmax reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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