George Bush assassination plot 'precisely' the concern we had with Biden's open border policies: Rep. Katko

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George Bush assassination plot precisely the concern we had with Biden's open border policies: Rep. Katko

Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., member of the House Homeland Security Committee, reacts to revelations of the ISIS plot to assassinate former President George W. Bush on 'The Story.'

The alleged plot to assassinate former President George W. Bush is "precisely" what critics of President Biden's open border policies have been warning about, one Republican lawmaker told Fox News on Tuesday.

"This is precisely the concern we had with the open border policies of the Biden administration. For the first year or so, we were fighting with them tooth and nail to try and get information about the number of terrorists that were coming across the border on the terror watch list that had been seized," Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., who serves as ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said on "The Story." 

"They wouldn’t give it to us. They finally gave it to us, and now we know there’s a plot to assassinate a former president, and it was going to be carried out by smuggling people across the southern border."

The Justice Department announced in a press release Tuesday that a man affiliated with ISIS is under arrest for his participation in the alleged plot The statement added that the suspect, identified as 52-year-old Shihab Ahmed Shihab, a resident of Columbus, Ohio, originally came to the United States in September 2020 on a visitor visa and in March 2021 filed for asylum, which is pending review. 

ISIS AFFILIATED SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED PLOT TO KILL PRESIDENT BUSH

Katko said he hopes the "deeply troubling" announcement will force the White House to finally confront the national security implications of Biden's immigration policies, before imploring the president to "take a reality check here and realize that the border policies are making the country much less safe."

JUNO BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 07:  Former U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during the flag raising ceremony prior to The Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club on May 07, 2021 in Juno Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

"For them to say that the open border is not a national security issue is laughable," he said. "And… with what's going on in Afghanistan emboldening the ISIS elements and the terrorist elements, worldwide, you have a real recipe for disaster that was narrowly averted here. But it doesn’t bode well for the future of this country unless they secure this border once and for all," Katko told anchor Martha MacCallum.

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Shihab, according to the Department of Justice, exchanged money with other individuals in an attempt to illegally smuggle foreign nationals into the United States and specifically planned to help four Iraqi nationals enter the country across the southern border to help kill Bush.

ISIS has long waged a recruitment and propaganda war online.   (Reuters)

Katko blamed the United States' botched withdrawal from Afghanistan for creating instability in the region, which "gave once again a breeding ground for terrorist activities and encouragement for terrorism around the world. 

"They’re attempting to work into this narrative, the exploitation of the southern border," he said. "For months and months, the administration is trying to tell us it was only Mexicans and people from the northern triangle coming across. It’s just not true."

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Katko added, "I shudder to think about what has gotten through and what we don’t know about."