The Department of Homeland Security warned Wednesday that illegal immigrants with “terrorist ties” are expected to exploit the U.S. border as the threat environment remains high.
The agency detailed a number of warnings in its annual Homeland Threat Assessment, which is used to provide information to local, state and federal agencies about public safety and security threats, and said it expects the country's “terrorist threat environment” to change over the coming year. “remains high,” he said.
“Over the coming year, we expect some individuals with ties to terrorism and some criminal actors to continue their efforts to exploit migration flows and the complex border security environment to enter the United States,” the assessment said. states.
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Migrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, Dec. 7, 2023. A Department of Homeland Security threat assessment warned of terrorism-linked migrants exploiting the border crisis. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
The report continued: “Individuals with possible ties to terrorism continue to attempt to enter the mainland through the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders and through the immigration system.”
there were 172 encounters Last year, more than 560 people were registered on terrorist watch lists at borders between ports of entry, and more than 560 at ports of entry.
The report also raises concerns about violence in response to the 2024 election cycle, which has already seen an assassination attempt on former President Trump's life, and the threat of foreign violence in response to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. He also expressed concern that extremists were carrying out potential attacks.
The report states that organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda “maintain a persistent intent to carry out or provoke attacks on the homeland and are using conflicts in the Middle East to reaffirm this intent.” Ta.
“Among state actors, we expect Iran to remain a major sponsor of terrorism and continue its efforts to advance conspiracies against individuals in the United States, including current and former U.S. officials.” warned.
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In addition to Iran, China and Russia are increasing their use of artificial intelligence to create “more believable” text, video, and audio to reach U.S. audiences while concealing their origins, according to the report. It is said that there is
The Terrorism Watch List, known as the Terrorist Screening Dataset, includes known or suspected terrorists as well as additional individuals believed to pose a potential threat to the United States, including associates of individuals on the watch list. Included.
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 threat assessment says that while encounters with migrants have decreased slightly, large numbers of migrants are still arriving, “complicating border security and immigration enforcement.”
“Migrant encounters along the U.S.-Canada border continue to increase, with the number of migrant encounters from August 2024 on The number of cases exceeded 181,000,” the report said. “In contrast to the U.S.-Mexico border, many encounters with people on watch lists along the U.S.-Canada border occur at ports of entry, and the vast majority of these individuals have no legal rights in Canada. has a certain position.”
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Encounters with immigrants from Eastern Hemisphere countries, including China, India, Russia, and West African countries, decreased slightly from about 10% to 9% in 2024, but the proportion was still higher than before 2023. the report states. Said.
