House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford is urging Americans to be vigilant without "living in fear."
The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo warning of a "heightened threat environment" over the Israel-Iran conflict shortly after the U.S. strike. Meanwhile, NBC News reported that Iran threatened to activate sleeper cells in the U.S. if attacked.
It has rung alarm bells for top U.S. national security officials both in and outside of Congress.
Crawford, whose panel oversees the U.S. intelligence community, blamed the former Biden administration's actions for creating an illegal immigration crisis that he said could have potentially allowed bad actors to enter the U.S. in recent years.
"We know historically, Iran being the leading state sponsor of terror, we also know that during the Biden years, there were hundreds of Iranians that were allowed to come in, pretty much unchecked," he said, referring to people who crossed the border illegally.
"We don't necessarily have a good read on where they are, what their intentions are… And so I think we need to redouble our [counter-intelligence] posture in the United States."
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House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford. (Getty Images)
"For example, I mean, if something doesn't feel right…don't go there. Trust your judgment on that. I mean, just because you live in Arkansas as I do, doesn't necessarily mean that you're insulated from threats," he said.
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"It also doesn't necessarily mean that you should be living in fear. It just means that if you see something amiss, if you have sort of a sense that maybe something's out of place, you know, trust your instincts. Maybe you need to call law enforcement, maybe you need to just remove yourself from a given situation if you don't feel like it's safe."
In the meantime, Crawford said he and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will be seeking more information from federal officials.
"Absolutely, we'll be engaging with the intelligence community to get better insights into what's going on and and updated information in real time," he said, adding the panel generally gets information "quickly" from the intelligence community.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/americans-must-have-higher-degree-vigilance-amid-iran-terror-threat-house-intel-chair-warns