String of attacks connected to naturalized citizens raises national security questions

"That's partially because of legal reasons: They can't just monitor constitutionally protected free speech and opinions after they become a naturalized citizen, indefinitely, just to keep tabs on them," Mauro Institute president Ryan Mauro told Fox News on Saturday.

"They legally can't do it, and they also don't have the resources to do it."

Just this month alone, the U.S. has experienced four attacks with ties to naturalized citizenship.

"That's what they both want to do," Mauro said.

The process of citizenship revocation has been a hotly debated topic during the second Trump administration, and the spate of four terror attacks amid the latest Israel-U.S. war on Iran may increase scrutiny on the vetting process.

Mauro's institute is not constrained by federal law in vetting potential terrorist ideology of naturalized citizens like the Justice Department is, he noted.

"That's why I personally have set up a civilian intelligence team that does do that type of thing," Mauro said. "And why we've been so successful is because whereas the government has to be very careful not to launch investigations based off of just a mere suspicion or an unpopular opinion, civilians are free to comb through social media and just find people and report them."

"If they do come across someone who is expressing support for a terrorist organization, it still gets tricky," he lamented. "You would think, oh, at that point you can revoke it and just get rid of the people because that would make sense, but the question is membership and affiliation.

"I mean, there'll be a lot of headaches just over those words. At what point does it go from, oh, I agree with them, versus actually being affiliated with them as like a unit?"