In the tense days following the US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, Iran responded with missile strikes on US bases in Iraq, wounding dozens of people but deliberately avoiding fatalities. Tehran promised “tough retaliation,” but none of the attacks hit U.S. territory. The reason was not just deterrence or diplomatic restraint, but something simpler: Iran had no operational assets within the United States.
At the time, the regime had only scattered sympathizers, and no embedded networks capable of carrying out attacks at home. U.S. intelligence assessments after the attack identified threats abroad but did not point to credible, specific domestic dangers because Iran’s reach stopped short of U.S. borders.
Secure borders and tight controls under the Trump administration prevented potential agents from easily infiltrating U.S. defenses. Encounters with Iranians at the U.S. southern border averaged fewer than 20 per year between 2000 and 2019. The homeland remained isolated from the threat of terrorism from Iran.
Now, in March 2026, as U.S. and Israeli forces destroy Iran’s nuclear sites and tyrannical leadership in Operation Epic Fury — killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering regional responses — the calculus has dangerously shifted. Iran has fired missiles at US outposts in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and beyond.
But the greatest risk lurks in the United States: possible activation of sleeper cells or lone actors on American soil. This vulnerability stems directly from four years of open borders policies under President Joe Biden, which opened the doors wide to uncontrolled immigration, growing Iranian sympathizers in the United States and potentially entrenching assets at the regime’s behest.
US ON HIGH ALERT FOR IRANIAN SLEEP CELLS, PROXIES
After the Soleimani attack, Iranian plots against the American homeland were ambitious at best. The regime planned assassinations of US officials, including President Donald Trump and former national security adviser John Bolton, in revenge for the general’s death. Yet these have fallen under vigilant counterterrorism efforts and have failed to gain an operational foothold in the United States.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bulletins warned of Iran’s intentions to use proxies such as Hezbollah, but emphasized its lack of immediate capacity to carry out domestic attacks. Borders acted as a bulwark; Trump’s “maximum pressure” sanctions and law-based immigration enforcement choked infiltration routes. Iranian-backed networks lurked in the tri-border area of South America, but US law enforcement agencies blocked their northern paths.
Biden’s reversal of these policies led to chaos. Starting on Inauguration Day, he dismantled the border wall, scrapped the highly successful “Remain in Mexico” policy and allowed catches and releases to skyrocket. More than 10 million encounters with illegal immigrants followed, including waves of terrorism-prone countries. Apprehensions of Iranians skyrocketed, with Border Police arresting 1,504 Iranian nationals between fiscal years 2021 and 2024 – a twenty-fivefold jump from the previous two decades.
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Alarmingly, 729 of them were released into the United States, often after little investigation amid overwhelmed systems. This was not merely a mistake; policies such as extensive loopholes in asylum law and restraint against deportation actually welcomed risk. In June 2025, ICE arrested 11 Iranians who were in the country illegally, including a former army sniper, a Revolutionary Guard member and a Hezbollah member – all of whom had sneaked in during Biden’s term in office. The intelligence community flagged that another 35 Iranians were planning a cartel-backed border crossing that same month.
These newcomers expanded Iran’s base of sympathizers and potentially provided support to the Iranian regime’s assets. Border czar Tom Homan denounced the nurturing of “sleeper cells,” a sentiment echoed in DHS warnings about Iran’s use of proxies amid escalating conflict. Biden’s approach to immigration didn’t just strain resources; it was an invitation to opponents. As one national security expert put it, America’s borders became a “sieve” through which global threats could pass. Hezbollah’s longstanding Latin American hubs sent operatives north, exploiting lax border enforcement.
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Now that Khamenei is dead and the Iranian regime is cornered, desperation is increasing. Trump warns about Tehran’s nuclear mismanagement. Experts foresee retaliation against the American homeland via infiltrated cells – cells likely planted during the Biden administration. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is urging vigilance against “sleeper cells or lone wolves,” and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is calling for increased warnings about infiltration. A recent shooting in Austin, Texas, involving an Iran-linked suspect is raising fears of terrorist attacks at home.
The risk explosion is profound. In 2020, Iran’s lack of assets spared the homeland. Now Biden’s immigration policies have filled a tinderbox full of sympathizers and strangers, ready for a conflagration. To avert – or at least minimize – disasters, borders must be closed, strict controls restarted and threats eradicated. These are all steps that the Trump administration has aggressively pursued, but we must commit to staying on this course for years to come and never allow our country to put itself at such risk again.
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