Bipartisan bill aims to prevent Syrians with terror ties from reaching US border

A bipartisan group of House members is introducing legislation they claim would strengthen border security by identifying and tracking potential terrorists well before they reach the U.S. homeland.

“Border security doesn’t begin or end at the border. Across the globe, individuals with ties to terrorist organizations pose threats to our homeland that can’t be downplayed,” Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said in a release provided to Fox News Digital. “Our constituents are relying on DHS and its partners to identify these threats and address them long before they pose a tangible threat to the communities we represent.”

Correa is joined by Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, in introducing the Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate terror threats to the U.S. homeland that could potentially originate in Syria, where recent regime change has led to a quickly evolving political situation in a country home to multiple terrorist organizations.

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Terrorists participate in military training in this undated still frame from a recruitment video for Usama Bin Laden”s extremist al Qaeda network. (Al Rai Al Aam/Feature Story News/Getty Images)

The legislation comes just two months after opposition groups in Syria toppled longtime leader Bashar Assad, who ruled the country for almost 25 years. 

The surprise offensive against Assad was led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, an Islamist group with ties to al Qaeda that is listed by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. One of the group’s leaders, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has become interim leader of the country’s new government, leading to concerns about the future political direction of the country.

Syrian President Bashar Assad fled for Russia as his regime collapsed in December 2024. (SANA via AP)

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Luttrell said the new legislation, which is set to be voted on in the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, will require DHS to “evaluate the threat posed to the United States by individuals in Syria with ties to Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization (STGT).”

People celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on Dec. 8, 2024, in Damascus. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

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“The United States cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the growing terrorist threats in Syria. My legislation, the Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act, ensures that DHS is actively identifying and assessing the risks posed by individuals with ties to terrorist organizations before they can threaten our homeland,” Luttrell said in a release to Fox News Digital.