One former FBI director, speaking anonymously to Fox News Digital, expressed concern that Iranian operatives may already be embedded on American soil. “Iran and its proxies have historically used terrorism as an alternative to conventional warfare. Now that their nuclear infrastructure is crippled, they may lean on sleeper cells already inside the U.S.,” the official warned.
Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker echoed these fears, tying the sleeper cell threat directly to the Biden administration’s border policies. “Because of the open borders, we are at a serious catch-up phase. We don’t know where those thousand Iranians are and who knows how many others got across the border. We missed an opportunity when they caught and released those thousand. We missed the opportunity to gather intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We just simply let them go, which is gross negligence on the part of the Biden administration,” Swecker said.
National security experts say that more than 1,200 Iranian nationals have entered the U.S. under the current administration. Tom Homan, former acting ICE director and now a White House border advisor, told Fox News that this influx raises urgent questions about undetected terror operatives blending into civilian populations.
Michael Balboni, former Homeland Security advisor for New York state, warned that the U.S. has essentially lost track of who is inside the country. “We had an open border for a very long time. Tens of millions came across and we don’t know who they are, where they came from, what their capabilities are or their intentions.”
This concern was amplified by past failed plots. Since 2020, U.S. law enforcement has disrupted several potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots and assassination attempts against dissidents and U.S. officials.
“This is a time for calm, professionalism, and heightened awareness,” Balboni said. “But certainly because of the hostilities, there is a heightened fear and awareness that these types of attacks could happen in the United States.”
The Department of Homeland Security emphasized that the U.S. is facing increased risks not only of physical violence, but also of cyberattacks and antisemitic hate crimes.
With tensions escalating between the U.S. and Iran, law enforcement remains on high alert across major metropolitan areas, ports, and critical infrastructure nodes like power grids and medical facilities. Intelligence analysts continue to monitor chatter and movement, as the specter of embedded terror operatives looms larger by the day.