Sen. Maria Cantwell. D-Wash., declines to directly answer if illegal immigration is a national security threat when asked about the alleged White House terror plot linked to an illegal immigrant. (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)
A longtime Senate Democrat declined to directly condemnillegal immigrationas a national security threat after it was revealed the terror plot to ambush the UFC White House event Sunday night was schemed by an immigrant from Mexico.
Abraham Alvarez is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who overstayed his visa. according to Homeland Security information firstobtained by Fox News Digital. He was identified as the alleged "ringleader" of a network of 23 individuals who planned to carry out a "mass casualty event" with explosive drones striking the White House on June 14.
After reports surfaced that Alvarez was the architect of the failed terror attack, Fox News Digital asked Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., if she views illegal immigration as a threat to the national security of the homeland.
"We have to have good national security grid watch,. we have to stop terrorist attacks," the Washington Democrat replied, keeping it ambiguous.
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., attend a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3, 2025.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I’ll look more into the specific details. Don’t know about it," she continued.
Alvarez, 31, failed to leave the country when his B2 visitor visa expired in 2001 after coming to the U.S. as a child. He was granted Dreamer status —deportationrelief — by the Obama administration in 2014 through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),. has remained in the U.S. ever since under that program.
Cantwell is not one of the Democrats who has adopted a particularly hard-line immigration stance in Congress. She has, however, repeatedly condemned aggressiveimmigration enforcement,particularly under the Trump administration.
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FILE - President Donald Trump announced his pick for the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Cantwell has voted several times since PresidentDonald Trumptook office to challenge some efforts of Immigration. Customs Enforcement (ICE) related to alleged racial profiling by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. She has encouraging immigration enforcement to not detain pregnant illegal immigrants. has backed investigation into the conditions of detention centers.
She also voted against the Laken Riley Act in January 2025, which requires the Department ofHomeland Security(DHS) to detain illegal immigrants who have been charged with certain crimes including theft, assault, burglary, shoplifting. more.
Along with Alvarez. five additional individuals have been arrested this month for assisting in the alleged terror plot to attack the White House UFC event over the weekend.
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Federal authorities said the motivation of the attack was related togovernment corruption, Israel’s influence on American politics. the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Alvarez, when asked in messages about explosive drones by a co-conspirator, said he wanted "as many. as deadly as we can get." Investigators also noted the suspect's goal was to target "capitalist elites," billionaires and politicians funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Of the 23 identified in planning the terror attack, 18 have still have not been charged.
Each suspect could face a maximum penalty of life in prison. a $250,000 fine, with a potential additional five years if also convicted of planning to carry out violence on White House grounds.
Hannah is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.
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