According to internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Border Patrol agents have marked the southern border as a potential national security risk in the past 15 months. More than 30,000 immigrants have been released.
According to internal data, the Border Patrol had 20,287 encounters with special interest aliens (SIAs) with future court dates at the southern border in fiscal year 2023 and 12,114 encounters so far in fiscal year 2024. Recorded. According to CBP internal data obtained by DCNF in October 2022, Border Patrol SIA encounters increased 600% from 3,675 in fiscal year 2021 to 25,627 in fiscal year 2022.
Individuals who frequently travel to areas where terrorism or other types of “nefarious activities” are taking place are considered SIA. according to to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The SIA could also include individuals who “may have links to terrorism.” according to Listed in 2019 DHS Fact Sheet.
According to the data, the most common nationalities in the SIA category in 2023 were Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Since October, when the 2024 fiscal year begins, the top nationalities have included Turkey, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Russia. (Related: Exclusive: Terrorist caught crossing border illegally was allowed to roam free for almost a year, memo says)
CBP Internal Data on Special Interest Aliens Released in FY2023
CBP Internal Data on Special Interest Aliens Released in FY2024
“I was surprised myself. It worries me, it makes me depressed, it enrages me and it frustrates me,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told DCNF about the surge in SIA encounters in recent years.
For example, a recent DCNF review of Telegram and TikTok posts shows that Turkish smugglers run a lucrative smuggling ring on Telegram, helping SIA reach and cross the southern border. .
Border Patrol arrested 172 people on the terrorist watch list for attempting to enter the United States illegally in fiscal year 2023. Border Patrol recorded 50 encounters with people on terrorist watch lists between October and December. according to to federal data.
Agents also recorded 98 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watch list in fiscal year 2022 and 16 in fiscal year 2021, according to the data.
DHS did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
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