In light of Iran’s promise to retaliate against the U.S. for recent airstrikes, a chilling concern is resurfacing: sleeper cells may already be inside our borders — and Joe Biden may have opened the door. A RedState report by Bob Hoge highlights just how vulnerable America could be thanks to the previous administration’s border policies.

The issue centers on the more than 1,500 Iranian nationals who illegally crossed the U.S. southern border during Biden’s presidency. Shockingly, over 700 of them were released into the country — nearly half of the total apprehended, according to Customs and Border Protection sources.

While these figures might have seemed like just another border statistic last year, Iran’s latest threats to awaken operatives inside the U.S. have turned that risk into a potentially imminent national security crisis. In the wake of Operation Midnight Hammer — the Trump-led military campaign that destroyed major Iranian nuclear targets — multiple U.S. cities have heightened security alerts. The question now is: did some of those 729 released Iranians have more than just asylum in mind?

The numbers tell a troubling story. In FY2021, 48 Iranians were caught; by FY2024, that number had skyrocketed to 797. Of those detained in 2024, a staggering 448 were released. The Biden administration’s decision to allow nearly half of these individuals to stay in the U.S. has already drawn harsh criticism — and fresh scrutiny given the geopolitical climate.

Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin attempted to dig deeper into the national security implications, filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to determine how many of these individuals were on the terror watchlist. The Biden administration denied the request, citing “privacy concerns” and a “minimal public interest” — a rationale that now seems dangerously out of touch.

And then there’s the elephant in the room: the 2 million known “gotaways” during the Biden years. These are people who crossed illegally and were never caught. Their origins? Unknown. Their intentions? Anyone’s guess.

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt laid the blame squarely on Biden, calling Iran a “morals-free foe” and warning that the administration’s leniency has placed the American public at unnecessary risk. Her remarks reflect growing concern that ideological softness and lax border enforcement under the Biden regime may have created a perfect storm for infiltration.

In contrast, President Trump has pointed to his own success in reducing illegal immigration and reasserting border controls as a key factor in keeping potential terrorists out. While critics accused him of being overly aggressive or xenophobic, his supporters now see those policies as prescient in the face of emerging threats from Iran and other hostile nations.

This renewed debate over immigration and national security comes at a time when the U.S. is facing global instability on multiple fronts — from the Middle East to the cyber battlefield. And as Iran looks for unconventional ways to hit back at the United States, the possibility of domestic sabotage cannot be ignored.

What remains unclear — and deeply unsettling — is whether any of the 729 Iranian nationals released during Biden’s term had ties to terrorist networks, or if they’ve quietly embedded themselves across American cities awaiting activation.

Thanks to poor transparency and failed leadership, we may not know until it’s too late.