Overview
- In a letter sent Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to order an immediate, comprehensive audit of visas issued since 2021 from high‑risk regions with a focus on ties to Hamas and other designated terrorist groups.
- Cotton proposed enhanced social‑media vetting for applicants from those regions along with mandatory real‑time watchlist coordination between DHS and the FBI before entry.
- The request follows the federal indictment of Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub al‑Muhtadi, 33, whom prosecutors allege took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas assault; he is being held in Louisiana.
- Investigators cited cell‑phone geolocation placing the suspect at Kibbutz Kfar Aza and online posts and messages indicating militia activity and battlefield‑style commands, according to court filings.
- Reports state he entered through Dallas–Fort Worth in September 2024, later lived in Tulsa and Lafayette, and now faces counts including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and making false statements in the immigration process; no DHS response to Cotton’s request has been reported.