This week, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, led by Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), held hearing entitled, “How America and Its Allies Can Stop Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran from Evading Sanctions and Financing Terror.”

Congressman Luetkemeyer questioned expert witnesses on terrorist attempts to enter the U.S. illegally through the southern border. A fellow in the Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy and former Special Advisor for the Iran Action Group at the U.S. Department of State, Mr. Gabriel Noronha, discussed active assassination plots against U.S. dignitaries.

Congressman Luetkemeyer: “We continue to see an open border, with all sorts of terrorists pouring through. The number is staggering so far this year that they have caught— between 150-200 terrorists. How many got in before we even caught them? That’s a concern, so does anybody have any information as far as terror cells here?”

Fmr. State Dept. Special Advisor, Mr. Gabriel Noronha: “In the first 14 days of this fiscal year, there were 30 individuals from Iran encountered at the southern border, between border crossings, 68 from Syria. In terms of terror cells, there are active assassination plots against around a dozen Americans today, including my former bosses [former Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo, [former U.S. Special Representative for Iran and State Department Senior Policy Advisor] Brian Hook, and [former UN Ambassador] John Bolton.”

Congressman Luetkemeyer: “There are assassination plots right now?”

Mr. Noronha: “Active plots on U.S. soil. There have been close calls. Those close calls have continued even after warnings from the White House to the Iranian regime. They have operatives here in the United States.”

View the full exchange HERE.