Border Patrol Increasingly Encountering People On Terror Watchlist

U.S. Border Patrol has seen a massive spike in southern border encounters with people on the U.S. terror watchlist between ports of entry, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics.

CBP personnel came across individuals on the watchlist 78 times in those areas between October and August, the data reveals. There have been more than 2,000,000 migrant encounters on the southern border so far this fiscal year, a record-breaking surge.

CBP reported only fifteen southern border encounters with people on the watchlist between ports of entry in FY2021. No such incidents were recorded in FY2019.

President Joe Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to address migration’s root causes early last year, and she did not visit the southern border until more than 90 days later. Harris insisted in a “Meet the Press” interview released Sept. 11 that the border was “secure,” admitting, “We also have a broken immigration system and particular[ly] over the last four years before we came in and it needs to be fixed.”

Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz conceded under oath in late July that the southern border was in crisis. Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar said Sept. 9 that the border was not closed, arguing the administration was “not on the same page” when it claimed otherwise.

The White House and CBP did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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