WASHINGTON --- Senator Chuck Grassley has asked the Department of Homeland Security for records on the naturalization of the suspect in the Times Square bombing attempt, in order to gain a better understanding of how red flags were resolved, or not, prior to naturalization.
“Homeland Security agents deserve praise for their work in apprehending the suspected terrorist before he escaped the country,” Grassley said. “Now the question is about making sure one hand of the government knows what the other is doing. We need to be sure that foreign nationals are not allowed to become citizens without first resolving any questions about their possible support for terrorism.”
According to news reports, Faisal Shahzad was questioned by agents from a Joint Terrorism Task Force in 2004, years before his 2009 naturalization, and had transported approximately $80,000 in currency or monetary instruments into the United States.
Click here to read Grassley’s letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano.