Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Monday that the Department of Justice is on “high alert” as officials monitor Iranian nationals living illegally in the U.S., following the Trump administration’s weekend airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The warning came during a House budget hearing, as concerns mounted over the national security implications of President Joe Biden’s lax border policies.

Border Breaches Come Back to Haunt Us

During Biden’s tenure, 1,504 Iranian nationals were arrested after entering through the southern border—an alarming figure provided by a senior Customs and Border Protection source. Even more concerning: 729 of them, or nearly half, were released into the U.S. interior. Bondi was asked how many had committed crimes but said she didn’t have the exact number. However, she confirmed that the DOJ and intelligence agencies were monitoring the situation closely.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) brought up the topic of “sleeper cells,” which many in the intelligence community fear could be activated in the wake of the Middle East conflict. Bondi declined to address sleeper cell activity publicly, saying, “I cannot talk about that in this setting.”

Warnings Multiply as Iran Threatens Response

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) echoed Bondi’s caution, issuing a public bulletin warning of a “heightened threat environment” in the United States. DHS cited the risk of lone wolf attacks, extremist violence, and even state-backed cyber intrusions. The agency emphasized that events in Iran could trigger domestic threats from sympathizers or covert operatives already on U.S. soil.

This is not an abstract concern. The FBI indicted three men in 2024 in a plot to assassinate Donald Trump and a dissident journalist—both targets allegedly chosen by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. One of the men remains at large. While not all of the individuals involved were Iranian nationals, the plot underscores the reach and brazenness of Tehran’s influence operations.

Ceasefire Announced — But Will It Hold?

President Trump announced late Monday that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran was in place and expected to take effect within hours. The announcement followed Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on a U.S. base near Doha, Qatar. Fortunately, no U.S. casualties were reported due to what Trump said was “early notice” from Iran—a signal that Iran may want to de-escalate, at least for now.

Still, the U.S. intelligence community remains wary. Past ceasefire agreements with Iran have often been short-lived or exploited for strategic advantage. DHS officials warned that cyberattacks and anti-Semitic incidents may escalate regardless of whether the ceasefire holds.

Biden’s Border Legacy Under Fire

Critics were quick to draw a straight line between the Biden administration’s border failures and the current security risks. The data shows an alarming rise in Iranian national arrests: 48 in FY2021, 197 in FY2022, 462 in FY2023, and 797 in FY2024. With nearly half released into the country, Republican lawmakers are demanding accountability.

“Thanks, Joe,” wrote RedState’s Bob Hoge in a recent column. “What if some of those let in were ticking time bombs waiting for Iran to call the shots?”

Bondi’s testimony highlights how Trump’s decisive foreign policy actions are colliding with the consequences of Biden’s porous border. As America braces for potential retaliatory attacks—whether physical, cyber, or ideological—the question remains: how many threats were already let in before the door was closed?

With the DOJ and DHS now scrambling to plug the holes, this latest crisis serves as a chilling reminder that border policy is national security policy—and the consequences of neglect can be deadly.