The FBI is investigating claims of radial Islamic terrorism in all 50 states, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, Kelly gave a speech at George Washington University and said radical Islam in America is on the rise.
"We don't know their intentions," said Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general. "We don't know why they're here or why they're coming. We are completely blind to what they're capable of."
Kelly also admitted there have been "36 homegrown terrorist cases in 18 states" in the last year. "We've seen an unprecedented spike in homegrown terrorism. These are the cases we know about — homegrown terrorism is notoriously difficult to predict and control."
Kelly painted a bad picture of the current state of security in Europe, saying somewhere around 10,000 European citizens have joined the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq. And there are several thousand more people from the African continent who have done the same.
"Many are citizens of countries in our Visa Waiver Program, they can more easily travel to the United States which makes us a prime target for their exported violence," Kelly said.
Authorities in France, meanwhile, said Tuesday they thwarted an "imminent attack" just days before the country's upcoming election. Two people were arrested in the southern city of Marseille.