Turkish migrants are reportedly entering the United States at the southern border in record numbers, and smugglers have taken to social media to brag about how easy it is to cross into the US through California.
According to data on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, just over 1,400 Turkish migrants were encountered along the southern border in 2021. The following year, that number jumped to 15,445, and in 2023, 15,542 Turkish migrants were encountered.
So far this year, there have been 7,486 encounters between migrants from Turkey entering the United States and Border Patrol agents.
Of the 15,542 Turkish migrants who entered the United States in 2023, 9,154, or 41 percent, entered through the San Diego area, making the San Diego area the top concentration of migrants entering the United States illegally this year.
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On February 17, Border Patrol agents encountered the migrants in the San Diego area. (Fox News)
The New York Post reported that the Telegram channel, translated from Turkish to English and reviewed by the paper’s team, offers insight into how smugglers are helping migrants cross the US border from Mexico.
On social media, smugglers are offering routes from Cancun to Tijuana, Mexico, that include flights and travel to the U.S. In advertising the travel route, smugglers reportedly tell migrants to “don’t delay your dreams.”
The posts include photos and videos that show evidence of smugglers successfully transporting migrants from Mexico to the United States.
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Data on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website shows a sharp increase in encounters of Turkish migrants in the San Diego area from 2021 to 2023, with data for 2024 still being collected. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
For example, one post read: “Passengers passed through Kankunda. [sic] No problem. If anyone wants to go, please contact me.”
The newspaper reported that video reviewed by the paper showed the migrants arriving in Cancun and vacationing in a hotel, showing off their stamped passports.
The video also reportedly shows migrants being guided by smugglers towards the border from Tijuana.
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U.S. Border Patrol agents hand out bracelets in San Diego on Monday as they screen asylum seekers waiting between two double fences along the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Denis Polloi)
As well as showing the positive side of things, the posts also show members of the social media group voicing their concerns about coming to the US during a presidential election and about tough border security in Texas.
“There are no problems at the Tijuana border. Our hope is that nothing happens, that the situation doesn’t escalate. [sic] “From the Juarez, Texas border to other border gates because Texas wants to leave the US,” one message in the Telegram chat read.
Another poster told group members that Democrats, who have been in power since “Trump fell,” will likely keep the border as it is for the next year.
A Border Patrol source confirmed to The Washington Post that the Turkish migrants are classified as “special interest” migrants.
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U.S. Border Patrol Commissioner Jason Owens posted on X last week that Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 52,000 aliens of special interest since fiscal year 2024 began in October. He added that about 88% of the apprehensions occurred in the San Diego sector.
Special Interest Aliens (SIAs) are illegal immigrants from countries of national security concern who are supposed to be subject to additional vetting by the Department of Homeland Security during the process, but this has proven difficult as many of these countries do not share databases or records with the United States.
CBP did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital seeking more information about Turkish migrants entering the U.S. at the southern border.
A Turkish migrant who told Fox News he sold all his possessions on his way to the U.S. and paid about $10,000 to a drug cartel said Americans should be concerned about insecurity on the southern border.
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Migrants are photographed at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“The Americans are right, absolutely right,” say the immigrants. “Who’s coming into this country? They don’t know. Okay, I’m OK. But what if they’re not good people? What if they’re murderers or psychopaths? There’s no guarantee.”
“There’s no guarding, no security checks, no background checks, nothing,” he added of the border crossing.
He said he was concerned about who was coming across the border because “people are not normal.”
He told Fox News that his journey to the US took 24 days, passing through Qatar, Dubai, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil before arriving in Central America to come to the US.
According to the Los Angeles Times, San Diego County is the country’s busiest area for illegal border crossings, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting that 37,370 people crossed in April.
CBP told Fox News that 120 Chinese migrants entered California on Thursday alone.
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This comes as record numbers of migrants continue to cross the border illegally and one day after a bipartisan immigration bill failed for a second time in the Senate on a 43-50 vote, blocked by Republicans and a handful of Democrats.
Illegal immigration has become one of the key issues in the run-up to this fall’s 2024 presidential election.
Fox News’ Bree Stimson and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
