(new nation) — Border Patrol has stopped a significantly higher rate of individuals on the federal terrorism watch list than in previous years, and experts say the ongoing immigration crisis could pose a national security problem. I am afraid of something.
Agents along the southern border have stopped individuals on the government’s terror watch list 38 times since October. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
At this rate, I will have over 150 encounters with people on my watch list by the end of this year. That’s well above his 98 stops last year and marks a notable increase since President Joe Biden took office.
Between 2017 and 2020, border agents recorded a total of 11 encounters with watchlisted individuals at ports of entry along the southern border.
“This is a grave threat to the United States,” said former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott. “We are ignoring the fact that this mass migration is mingled with real national security threats.”
The recent rise in watchlist concerns record-breaking number Number of immigrants trying to enter the United States through Mexico.
In December, CBP agents encountered more than 250,000 migrants along the southern border. record high for one month. In December 2020, CBP encountered her 40,000-plus migrants along the southern border.
Current data consider only captured immigrants, Authorities estimate Tens of thousands of others fled.
Despite recent increases, encounters with individuals on terrorist watch lists are still very rare. His 38 stops since October represent only a fraction (0.0060%) of all U.S. Border Patrol encounters.
Some of these outages may include multiple encounters with the same individual, CBP notes.
The terrorist watch list contains an estimated 2 million names of people who are potential threats to the United States.
Meanwhile, the number of non-citizen gang members arrested by border guards rose to 751 last year. This is the highest total since CBP recorded nearly 1,000 gang-related stoppages in his 2019.
As of 2023, agents had arrested 146 gang members, about a third of whom belonged to the international street gang MS-13.
Local officials believe the first step to slowing the flow of illegal immigration is more deterrence.
Jonathan Lines, District 2 Supervisor, Yuma County, Arizona, said:
Recidivism rates among those attempting to cross the border have also increased in recent years.
Investigators are increasingly blocking immigrants who were once previously arrested. In 2021, 27% of stops included people who had encountered her CBP. That rate in 2019 was 7% for him.
