The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported a concerning increase in the number of individuals listed on the terror watchlist attempting to enter the United States illegally through its borders.
This alarming trend poses a significant threat to national security, as potential terrorists and criminal actors exploit the elevated flow and complex security environment to gain entry into the country.
According to government statistics, federal law enforcement stopped 160 individuals on the terror watchlist from entering the US illegally at America’s borders in 2023.
This figure represents a substantial increase from the 98 potential assailants apprehended the previous year.
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The surge in numbers coincides with the influx of thousands of people, both legally and illegally, entering the country without proper identification or documentation.
The DHS acknowledges that terrorists and criminal actors may exploit the heightened flow and intricate security environment to penetrate the United States.
“Terrorists and criminal actors may exploit the elevated flow and increasingly complex security environment to enter the United States,” the DHS admitted in its annual Homeland Threat Assessment report.
The number of individuals on the terror watchlist attempting to enter the US through its borders with Canada and Mexico has skyrocketed since President Joe Biden assumed office.
Last fiscal year, less than 100 people on the watchlist were stopped at the border, indicating a significant increase in potential threats. The US Customs and Border Protection agency has been grappling with identifying and apprehending individuals trying to hide among the unprecedented numbers of people arriving at international borders.
Over the past decade, the scope of the terror watchlist has expanded to include not only suspected terrorists but also associates and family members of known threats.
This expansion aims to mitigate potential risks and prevent individuals with ties to terrorists from entering the country. However, the growing number of individuals on the watchlist poses additional challenges to border security agencies.
To address the evolving threats, every person caught arriving at the US border undergoes thorough biometric and biographic screening and vetting.
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These processes help identify individuals who match the records in the terror watchlist, enabling law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action.
Additionally, US Customs and Border Protection has enhanced information-sharing agreements with international partners to bolster their ability to prevent, detect, and investigate trafficking and other crimes.
But “get-aways” are the concern, as are the more than 2.3 million southern border encounters in 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.
Accessing detailed information from the terror watchlist has proven challenging, even for members of Congress. The tightly regulated nature of the list ensures that only authorized personnel can access its contents. While the secrecy is necessary to maintain national security, it has led to concerns regarding transparency and accountability.
The DHS anticipates that the high numbers of migrant encounters will persist in the coming year due to the unchanged drivers of migration and potential frustrations with waiting for legal migration pathways. This ongoing challenge further strains border security agencies and necessitates effective strategies to address the situation.
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Despite the record number of terror watchlist suspects apprehended at the US border, government officials assert that encounters with known or suspected terrorists are still uncommon.
These encounters represent a significantly small fraction of total encounters per fiscal year and in recent years, amounting to less than 0.01% of the overall encounters.
While the numbers are relatively low, the potential risks associated with these individuals demand continuous vigilance and proactive measures now.
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