Mayorkas refuses to reply questions on Afghan nationwide accused of plotting ISIS-inspired terror assault
Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to reply questions Thursday about an Afghan nationwide accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired Election Day terror assault.
Mayorkas, 64, stonewalled a Fox Information reporter who peppered him with questions on how Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi gained entry into the US, the vetting course of concerned and whether or not it’s recognized if the 27-year-old Oklahoma Metropolis resident was radicalized earlier than or after he arrived within the nation.
“I’d be more than happy to reply your query in a unique setting, however we’re right here to speak about emergencies and the help that we are able to ship to folks in determined want,” the DHS chief responded throughout a digital look at a White Home press briefing.
The reporter famous that the DHS and the State Division have given “conflicting solutions” about Tawhedi’s immigration standing — with Mayorkas’ company claiming that the alleged terrorist arrived on a Particular Immigrant Visa issued by the State Division and the State Division indicating that Tawhedi was paroled into the nation by DHS.
“How do you not have these solutions ready?” the reporter requested Mayorkas, who appeared irritated by the grilling.
“Oh – um – that’s not what I stated,” Mayorkas responded. “What I stated is I might be happy to debate this subject at a unique time, however I’m right here to discuss disasters which have impacted folks’s lives in real-time and that’s the topic that I’m addressing right now.”
When requested if he might no less than “guarantee folks that applicable steps have been taken to safe the nation towards these sorts of threats,” Mayorkas once more didn’t reply.
“Your persistence in questions could be matched by my persistence in solutions,” he stated, eliciting a chuckle from White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Mayorkas was showing on the briefing from North Carolina, the place he was monitoring restoration efforts associated to Hurricane Helene.
Tawhedi was accused by the Justice Division on Tuesday of conspiring and making an attempt to offer materials help to ISIS after he allegedly communicated with a terrorist facilitator, stockpiled weapons and ammunition and made efforts to dump his household’s belongings and transfer his kin abroad as a part of his plan to hold out an Election Day bloodbath.
The Afghan nationwide entered the US on Sept. 9, 2021 — simply weeks after the Taliban regained management of Afghanistan and the final US troops departed from the war-torn nation in a chaotic exit orchestrated by the Harris-Biden administration.
