Cruz wants immigration details of Calif. shooting suspects

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is running for president, and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Thursday sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry asking for the history of Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, who were killed during a shootout with police. 

{mosads}”In our struggle against terrorism, we are dealing with an enemy that has shown it is not only capable of bypassing U.S. screening, but of recruiting and radicalizing Muslim migrants after their entry to the United States,” the two senators wrote.

“The recruitment of terrorists in the U.S. is not limited to adult migrants, but to their young children and to their U.S.-born children — which is why family immigration history is necessary to understand the nature of the threat.”

The senators specifically want the immigration history of their parents, as well as any immigration documentation related to their marriage. 

Law enforcement officials have yet to publicly pinpoint a motive behind the shooting, with President Obama saying Thursday that it’s “possible” that the shooting is related to terrorism. 

“It is possible that this was terrorist-related, but we don’t know,” he said. “It’s also possible that this was workplace-related.”

The senators stressed that having the information on the suspects is crucial as lawmakers face a mid-December deadline to fund the government. 

“[The bill] would set the U.S. on an autopilot path to approve green cards, asylee, and refugee status to approximately 170,000 migrants from Muslim countries during the next year,” they added. “The security task involved is immense, and Congress must have the requested information if lawmakers are to act as responsible stewards of American immigration policy.” 

Cruz and Sessions previously asked the administration for immigration information on 72 individuals, which the senators believe are connected to terrorism.

The two senators noted in their Thursday letter that they had yet to receive a response.