In recent days, a chilling warning came from one of America’s top counterterrorism experts: Iranian sleeper cells may already be embedded inside the United States—hiding in plain sight, waiting to strike. With tensions climbing after the president’s strike on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, that warning has taken on new urgency. The threat isn’t hypothetical. It’s now a likely reality.
And while most states are coordinating with federal law enforcement, tightening security, and staying alert, California has done the unthinkable:
It’s opted out.
California is the only state in the Union that has withdrawn entirely from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force—the primary engine for federal, state, and local cooperation in detecting and disrupting terrorism. And they did it proudly, in the name of “civil liberties.”
Let’s be blunt: the FBI’s JTTFs have disrupted plots targeting New York, Boston, and cities across the country. They are essential to homeland security. Pulling out of that network—especially now—is the domestic equivalent of turning off radar at Pearl Harbor.
Add to that the fact that California is also a sanctuary state, where local officials are barred from cooperating with ICE or federal immigration authorities. That means someone could cross the border illegally, find refuge in Los Angeles or San Francisco, and never be flagged—no matter how suspicious they may be.
Now layer in this: In the last several months, over 700 Iranian nationals—designated as “special interest aliens”—have crossed our southern border illegally. They’re subject to enhanced vetting for good reason: Iran has publicly stated that it may activate foreign agents in response to U.S. military action. These are not idle threats. These are strategic assets being put in place.
What’s the result?
A state that refuses to share intelligence…
A border hemorrhaging foreign nationals…
And a terrorist-sponsoring regime looking for soft targets.
This isn’t just a lapse in judgment. It’s a perfect storm.
Let’s remember San Bernardino. In 2015, two radicalized individuals opened fire in a California office building, killing 14 and wounding 22 more. They were American residents. They were radicalized online. And they executed their attack without ever triggering alarm bells—because back then, the systems weren’t integrated enough.
Now, California has gone even further backward. It has intentionally severed those alarm systems.
And here’s the national threat:
If a terrorist cell can establish itself in California—where oversight is limited and federal cooperation is absent—then they are only one plane ride away from New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, or any other high-value target in the country.
California’s refusal to act responsibly doesn’t just endanger Californians. It endangers all of us.
This is no longer about politics. This is about national security. This is about your neighborhood, your city, your airport, your children’s school.
Sleeper cells don’t look like monsters. They blend in. They embed. They wait. And when the time is right, they strike—using our own freedom, our own infrastructure, and our own blind spots against us.
By withdrawing from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, California has handed those blind spots to America’s enemies on a silver platter.
Supporters of the move will argue it’s about protecting civil rights. But the Constitution was never meant to be a suicide pact. Security and liberty are not opposites—they’re partners. And without security, liberty becomes a memory.
To be crystal clear: this is not an indictment of legal immigrants. This is not a smear of those seeking the American dream. This is about the intentional creation of intelligence black holes by politicians who care more about ideology than safety.
And the American people are the ones left vulnerable.
Iran has already activated its cyber units. It has already coordinated with proxies like Hezbollah to threaten U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide. Tehran doesn't need to smuggle operatives in via shipping containers—they walk across our border, disappear into sanctuary cities, and remain in the dark, thanks to California’s political theater.
We are not just at risk. We are exposed.
California must reverse course. Immediately. It must rejoin the JTTF. It must cooperate fully with federal immigration and counterterrorism efforts. And if it refuses, then Washington must apply pressure—through funding, oversight, and legal action—until it does.
Because the question is no longer if sleeper cells exist in America.
The question is how close they are…
And whether we’re ready.
Right now, in one state, the answer is terrifyingly clear.
Kevin McCullough is a nationally syndicated columnist with Townhall.com and host of "That KEVIN Show." Follow him @ThatKEVINShow or visit ThatKevinShow.com.
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