President Joe Biden’s self-inflicted border crisis took a turn for the worse as U.S. officials reveal another record has been set — and it’s not a good one.
“The number of people arrested in FY 2023 by Border Patrol at the southern border who are on the FBI’s terror watchlist has hit a new record at the end of May, according to new data released on Tuesday. As of the end of May, there have been 125 arrests at the southern border between ports of entry by Border Patrol since the fiscal year began in October,” Fox News reported.
“That is higher than FY 2022’s 98 encounters, which itself broke a record. In FY 21 there were just 15 arrests and in FY 20 just three. In FY 19, there were zero at the southern border between ports of entry. Numbers of encounters of those on the watchlist entering through ports of entry and encountered by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations (OFO) typically eclipse those encountered between ports of entry,” the outlet reported.
Fox News added: “So far in FY 2023, there have been 337 encountered at the northern and southern ports so far, compared to 380 in FY 2022 and 157 in FY 21. The watch list, officially called the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) is the government’s database that ‘contains sensitive information on terrorist identities.’”
“The TSDS originated as the consolidated terrorist watchlist to house information on known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” CBP says.
Last month, sources said an Afghan national entered the United States by crossing the border with a group of migrants near Otay Mesa, California.
Upon their arrival, Border Patrol agents conducted routine processing, including a fingerprint scan, which revealed that the individual was a match on the Terrorist Screening Database. Subsequently, the FBI was alerted, verified the results, and then initiated an investigation.
The individual who was arrested crossed the border one day before the expiration of Title 42, a COVID-19 emergency policy that permitted border agents to reject migrants. Following the expiration of the policy, thousands of migrants have flooded the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox News added.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the lawmaker who represents the district where the Afghan national was apprehended, said that Biden’s border policies, which he implemented on his first day in office and which Republicans say triggered a two-year record influx of illegal immigration, attract terrorists.
“Biden’s open borders aren’t just a gateway to five million illegals, record human and child trafficking and the deadliest drug crisis in our history,” Issa said. “Biden’s reckless policy is also an open invitation to even the most wanted terrorists in the world to come to America. They know they’ll never have to leave
“The nation knows what’s going on, and this president has only begun to be held accountable for what he has done,” Issa added.
The administration’s plan to quickly process and release migrants after Title 42 expired was set to take effect on Friday, however, but it was put on hold by a federal judge.
As reported by Fox News, Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, a Trump appointee, put in place a two-week restraining order on President Joe Biden’s policy, which would see migrants released on “parole with conditions.”
A recently issued Border Patrol memo outlined a policy stating that migrants can be granted entry into the country on parole, a process usually reserved for cases involving urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, in instances where Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encounters overcrowding, the outlet reported. Referred to as “parole with conditions,” this practice necessitates that migrants schedule an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or request a Notice to Appear by mail.