‘We Have Lost Track’: Taliban Handing Out ‘Visas And Passports’ To Terrorists Who Can End Up At Border, GOP Rep Says

Republican Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida said Monday that the Taliban were giving terrorists “visas and passports” after a suspect on the terrorist watch list was detained at the border.

“We know that people from over 170 countries are now coming across our border. The word has gone out that it’s wide open, and if you can just get there and step foot across our border then you can enter into our asylum system, get a workplace, or get a workforce visa and wait 5 to 7 years to maybe show up for court,” Waltz, a former Green Beret, told “America Reports” co-host John Roberts.

Border Patrol agents arrested an Afghan national on the FBI’s terrorist watch list shortly before the expiration of Title 42, according to Fox News.

“And look, John, we have to remember, going back to Afghanistan, there were thousands and thousands of the most hardened ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Taliban fighters released from the prison that was at Bagram, one of them was the suicide bomber that killed our 13 Americans at Abbey Gate,” Waltz added.

In January, the Biden administration announced the use of Title 42, a public-health measure used by the Trump administration to expel illegal immigrants, would end May 11.

“Where have they gone? We have lost track of them, and I’m hearing from Afghans still there, still in hiding from the Taliban that the Taliban are issuing visas and passports to terrorists who can leave legally and travel all over the world and come into our country that way. So, look, the lights are blinking red,” Waltz said.

Over 1.2 million illegal immigrants have been encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border during fiscal year 2023, according to data released by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), following 2,378,944 encounters in fiscal year 2022 and 1,734,686 in fiscal year 2021.

CBP reported taking 98 people on the terrorist watch list in custody during fiscal year 2022, and another 80 in the first six months of fiscal year 2023. CBP also reported that the number of “special-interest” migrants, defined as non-citizens who frequently travel to locations known for “nefarious activity” or terrorist activity, increased by 600%.

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