Terror Watchlist Arrests at Southern Border Hits Record

The number of aliens arrested in FY 2023 by Border Patrol on the FBI’s terror watchlist hit a new record at the end of May, according to data released by Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday.

Fox News reports, as of the end of May, there have been 125 arrests of suspected terrorists at the southern border.

That total is higher than FY2022’s 98 potential terrorist encounters – which itself set an all-time record for a fiscal year. In FY 21, there were just 15 arrests, and in FY 20, just three. Amazingly, in FY 19, there were zero at the southern border between ports of entry.

Fox News adds,

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.

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.

Officially called the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS), the watchlist is the lengthy government database that “contains sensitive information on terrorist identities.”

Customs and Border Protection states about the database:

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.

While the record-breaking number may pale in comparison to the millions of migrants encountered at the southern border during the Biden Administration’s tenure, House Republicans and former border officials have both raised concerns about the steadily increasing number of aliens encountered on the terrorist watchlist.

Adding concern, nearly 600,000 illegal aliens gotaways escaped Border Patrol custody in FY 2022, after almost 390,000 the year before. It is not unreasonable to suspect that at least one illegal alien gotaway would also appear on the FBI’s watchlist.

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