Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the Senate Republican Conference chair and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to audit every visa approved under the Biden administration for applicants from high-risk countries, warning that Biden’s vetting policy “allowed dangerous individuals tied to terrorist groups to enter the United States.”
In a letter sent Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Cotton urged a full review of all visas granted since 2021 from what he called “high-risk regions,” following the indictment of Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi — a 33-year-old Gazan national living in Louisiana, accused of taking part in the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel before entering the United States on a fraudulent visa.
Cotton wrote in the letter that the case “highlighted the extreme danger posed by the previous administration’s policies,” referencing Justice Department filings that identify Al-Muhtadi as a Hamas operative tied to the assault.
He detailed how 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.”
The letter stated that the vetting process “overlooked easily accessible evidence of his terrorist ties.”
The Arkansas senator warned that the incident underscores a broader failure in the system.
“Since October 7, 2023, thousands of visa applications from Palestinians have been processed through Egypt, often without adequate review of digital footprints or terrorist watchlist cross-checks,” he wrote — cautioning that such lapses could mean other terrorists have already entered the country under Biden-era approvals.
Cotton called on 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,” and to “implement enhanced social media monitoring for visa applicants from high-risk regions” along with “mandatory real-time FBI watchlist checks to ensure no terrorist slips through undetected.”
He concluded with a blunt warning: “The safety of Arkansans and all Americans depends on reversing the damage done by Biden’s open border policy.”
According to federal filings, investigators say geolocation data placed Al-Muhtadi’s phone near Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the October 7 attack, and his social media featured photos of him undergoing weapons training and wearing terrorist insignia.
Records show he arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on September 12, 2024, and later lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before relocating to Lafayette, Louisiana, where he was arrested.
He faces charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and making false statements in the immigration process, and remains in custody pending proceedings.
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