The San Diego field office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection warned its agents to be on the lookout for immigrants hoping to enter the United States who could be Hamas and Hezbollah sympathizers.

An internal memo claimed the war between Israel and Hamas could lead Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah fighters or sympathizers to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in the Southwest, which could pose a significant threat to national security.

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"Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico," the memo warned.

Agents are instructed to look for indicators of possible terrorism ties, which include seeing military-aged men, military gear such as weapons and camouflage, lone travelers, and people with ties to the region or undetermined return plans, according to the memo, which circulated Friday.

The memo is the latest warning of a possible terrorism threat crossing the southern border amid increased tensions in the Middle East and a more open border policy. It also comes as Border Patrol encountered 172 people on the terror watchlist during fiscal 2023, up from 98.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) praised the memo, but he said Hezbollah and Hamas fighters would want to hide their affiliations with the terrorist organizations in order to avoid detection.

“If you’re coming here, there’s a very real possibility you’re coming here to commit acts of terror," Cruz said on the Verdict podcast. "So I want to underscore something I’ve said on this podcast previously: I believe we are at a greater risk for a major terrorist attack of the United States today than we had been any time since Sept. 11, and the Biden administration’s policies continue to make that more and more likely each and every day.”

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The Department of Homeland Security has attempted to quell those fears by claiming the department's "multi-layered border security efforts include various screening and vetting processes" that allegedly prevent people who pose a national security threat to the country from crossing the southern and northern borders. But House Republicans claim the current policies still put the country at risk.

"Our wide-open Southwest border is a major national security threat," Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee said in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. "Individuals on the terrorist watchlist are being caught crossing the Southwest border at alarming rates [172] in FY23. And those are just the ones we've caught. SECURE THE BORDER NOW."