NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
A longtime Senate Democrat has refused to directly criticize immigration as a national security threat after it was revealed a terrorist plot to ambush the UFC White House event Sunday night was planned by an immigrant from Mexico.
Abraham Alvarez is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who overstayed his visa, according to Homeland Security information first obtained by Fox News Digital. He was identified as the alleged “leader” of a network of 23 people who planned to carry out a “mass death event” with bombs that exploded at the White House on June 14.
After reports surfaced that Alvarez was the architect of the failed terrorist attack, Fox News Digital asked Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on whether she views illegal immigration as a threat to homeland security.
“We have to have a good national security grid watch, and we have to stop terrorist attacks,” the Washington Democrat replied, keeping it vague.
Smiling Suspect Makes Another Story As Authorities Release Mugshots Of 5 Suspects In Support Of UFC White House Attack
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., attended a confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on Dec. 3. 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I’ll look into the specifics. I don’t know about it,” he continued.
Alvarez, 31, failed to leave the country when his B2 visitor visa expired in 2001 after arriving in the US as a child. He was granted Dreamer status – relief from deportation – by the Obama administration in 2014 through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and has lived in the US ever since under that program.
Cantwell is not one of the Democrats who has embraced a tough stance on immigration in Congress. However, he has repeatedly criticized the brutal use of immigration, particularly under the Trump administration.
DEM BORDER REP KICKS HIMSELF FOR VOTING ON LAKEN RILEY’S LAW
FILE – President Donald Trump announced his selection for the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Cantwell has voted repeatedly since President Donald Trump took office to challenge certain Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts related to alleged racial profiling by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. He encourages law enforcement not to detain pregnant illegal immigrants and supports investigations into conditions in detention centers.
He also voted against the Laken Riley Act in January 2025, which would have required the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to arrest illegal immigrants charged with certain crimes including theft, assault, burglary, theft and more.
Along with Alvarez, five other people were arrested this month for helping with the alleged terrorist plot to attack the White House UFC event over the weekend.
WHITE HOUSE UFC TERROR PLOT ‘RINGLEADER’ IS LEGAL MEXICAN IMMIGRANT, DHS CONFIRMS
Federal authorities said the motive for the attack was related to government corruption, Israel’s influence in American politics and the handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s files.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Alvarez, when asked in the text messages about the explosives set off by the accomplice, said he wanted “as many and as deadly as we can get.” The investigators also noted that the suspect’s intention was to target “capitalists,” billionaires and politicians sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Of the 23 identified when they planned the terrorist attack, 18 have not yet been charged.
Each suspect faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, and an additional five years if convicted of conspiracy to commit violence against the White House.
