String of attacks connected to naturalized citizens raises national security questions

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Expert discusses rise in US terror fears linked to naturalized citizens

Mauro Institute President Ryan Mauro explains concerns about the dynamic between Sunni and Shiite radicals and discusses recent attacks in the U.S.

The United States is left vulnerable even by its own naturalized U.S. citizens from hostile foreign lands, proving a free country can be exposed to security risks by the very freedoms the Constitution endows, an expert warned on Fox News.

"That's partially because of legal reasons: They can't just monitor constitutionally protected free speech and opinions after they become a naturalized citizen, indefinitely, just to keep tabs on them," Mauro Institute president Ryan Mauro told Fox News on Saturday.

"They legally can't do it, and they also don't have the resources to do it."

Just this month alone, the U.S. has experienced four attacks with ties to naturalized citizenship.

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The U.S. has seen four attacks in recent weeks in connection to naturalized citizens. (Fox News)

• March 1 – Austin, Texas, bar shooting
• March 7 – New York City attempted bombing (parents of suspects were naturalized citizens)
• March 12 – Old Dominion University shooting
• March 12 – West Bloomfield, Michigan, synagogue attack

The U.S. Customs and Immigration Services told Fox News Digital in a statement Monday that it "has a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who lies or misrepresents themselves during the naturalization process."

"Under the leadership of President Trump, USCIS is protecting public safety by more thoroughly screening and vetting all aliens," USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser wrote in a statement. "We have paused decisions on immigration benefits for aliens from high-risk countries. 

Surveillance footage shows Ayman Mohamad Ghazali inside a Phantom Fireworks store in Livonia, Michigan, where he purchased more than $2,000 worth of fireworks days before the synagogue attack on March 12. (Obtained by NYPost)

"We have established a new vetting center to better respond to emerging threats. We are directing our officers to consider country-specific risks, such as lack of identity documents or criminal background checks and review applicants for anti-American and antisemitic activity.

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Mauro had warned Saturday that terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. are playing a deadly game of can you top this.

"There's a bit of a jihad olympics going on, which is where you have the Sunni radicals like ISIS competing with the Shiite radicals of the Iranian regime because they need attention in order to survive and in order settle the argument of who has Allah's blessing so that they can trigger the apocalypse," Mauro said.

"That's what they both want to do," Mauro said.

Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was identified as the shooter at Old Dominion University on Thursday, March 12. (AP Photo)

The process of citizenship revocation has been a hotly debated topic during the second Trump administration, and the spate of four terror attacks amid the latest Israel-U.S. war on Iran may increase scrutiny on the vetting process.

"A person is subject to revocation of naturalization if the person becomes a member of, or affiliated with, the Communist party, other totalitarian party, or terrorist organization within five years of his or her naturalization," the U.S. Grounds for Revocation of Naturalization reads.

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Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Pictured is Ibrahim Kayumi family's home. (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York and Greg Wehner for Fox News Digital)

Mauro's institute is not constrained by federal law in vetting potential terrorist ideology of naturalized citizens like the Justice Department is, he noted.

"That's why I personally have set up a civilian intelligence team that does do that type of thing," Mauro said. "And why we've been so successful is because whereas the government has to be very careful not to launch investigations based off of just a mere suspicion or an unpopular opinion, civilians are free to comb through social media and just find people and report them."

U.S. freedoms even protect suspected terrorists, he added.

"If they do come across someone who is expressing support for a terrorist organization, it still gets tricky," he lamented. "You would think, oh, at that point you can revoke it and just get rid of the people because that would make sense, but the question is membership and affiliation.

The Austin, Texas, bar shooter was an Iran sympathizer and believed to have conducted a terrorist attack in the U.S. to retaliate after Israel killed the Iranian supreme leader. (KTBC)

"I mean, there'll be a lot of headaches just over those words. At what point does it go from, oh, I agree with them, versus actually being affiliated with them as like a unit?"

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Under Trump, the USCIS is bolstering its counterterrorism efforts, with "record numbers of new homeland defenders, proposed tougher screening for employment authorization, and have begun to onboard special agents to investigate and prosecute immigration violations," Tragesser told Fox News Digital.

"The citizenship test has been revised for a more meaningful assessment, and neighborhood investigations have been restored to verify eligibility and loyalty to the United States," his statement concluded. "We will not take any shortcuts that put our communities at risk and are working with the Department of Justice to ensure that only those who meet citizenship standards retain the privilege of U.S. citizenship. The safety of the American people always comes first."