A Border Patrol agent standing watch at the Montana-Canada border in the CBP Spokane Sector. The Spokane Sector covers the U.S.-Canada border along the northwestern section of Montana, part of Idaho, and the eastern part of Washington.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
By Bethany Blankley
The majority of KSTs are historically apprehended at the northern border, The Center Square first reported. In fiscal 2023, 736 KSTs were apprehended, the greatest number recorded in U.S. history. The majority, 487, were apprehended at the northern border compared to 249 at the southwest border.
Biden-Harris administration policies are resulting in Border Patrol agents releasing known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) into the U.S., a new congressional report states.
“The open-borders policies of President Joe Biden and border czar Vice President Kamala Harris have allowed millions of illegal aliens to enter the United States, including terrorist organizations and other bad actors looking to harm Americans,” creating a national security threat, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement said in a new interim report released Monday.
It points to 99 KSTs released into the U.S. during a two-year period evaluated. It also cites original reporting by The Center Square on terrorism data and warnings given by national security experts about imminent terrorist threats stemming from the border crisis.
The report only appears to focus on KSTs apprehended between ports of entry at the southwest border, excluding the threat posed by the overwhelming majority apprehended at the northern border. Congressional reports continue to appear to only cite one KST data set, instead of four U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports: at and between ports of entry at both borders.
The majority of KSTs are historically apprehended at the northern border, The Center Square first reported. In fiscal 2023, 736 KSTs were apprehended, the greatest number recorded in U.S. history. The majority, 487, were apprehended at the northern border compared to 249 at the southwest border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The trend continues in fiscal 2024, with 234 KSTs apprehended at the northern border and 125 at the southwest border, according to CBP data last updated July 15.
The total number of KSTs apprehended under the Biden administration is over 1,700, with the greatest number coming through the northern border, The Center Square first reported.
The greatest number of illegal border crossers have entered the U.S. while Biden’s been in office of over 12 million, including two million who evaded capture, known as gotaways, The Center Square first reported. Law enforcement officials estimate the gotaway number is underreported by between 10% and 20% and say they have no idea how many, who or where they are.
“Of the more than 250 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist who were encountered by Border Patrol at the southwest border between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released nearly 100 of them, with at least 34 others in DHS custody but not yet removed from the United States,” the report states, without clarifying the data solely refers to apprehensions at the southwest border between ports of entry.
The report notes that between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol agents apprehended “aliens on the terrorist watchlist from 36 different countries, including places with an active terrorist presence such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Yemen,” solely referring to one data set.
“So far during fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol has encountered tens of thousands of illegal aliens nationwide from countries that could present national security risks, including 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese nationals, 541 Iranian nationals, 520 Syrian nationals, and 3,104 Uzbek nationals,” the report states.
It refers to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials arresting eight Tajik nationals with potential ISIS ties in June after Border Patrol agents released them into the country. If federal law were followed, they would have been processed for removal instead of being released into the country, former Border Patrol, ICE and CBP officials have told The Center Square.
The Biden-Harris administration released into the U.S. “at least three illegal aliens with potential ISIS ties after the aliens used the Administration’s CBP One app to arrive at a port of entry and be processed into the country,” the report notes, although a different report shows several hundred with ISIS ties were released into the U.S., The Center Square reported.
At a House Judiciary hearing last year, as well as other congressional hearings and in news interviews, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has repeatedly claimed “illegal aliens are adequately screened and ‘individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety are detained,’” the report states. Several DHS Office of Inspector General reports have refuted his claim, providing evidence to the contrary, including foreign nationals not being vetted at airports.
The report also highlights problems in federal immigration courts, pointing to judges who “granted asylum, bond, and other immigration relief to potential terrorists.” The court problem has been compounded by hundreds of thousands of deportation cases being dismissed because DHS failed to file proper paperwork, The Center Square reported.
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