According to recently released federal data, nearly 100 people on the FBI’s terror watchlist were detained at the Southern border in the past year, setting a record high and showing a sharp increase in recent months. Data from the Customs and Border Protection department, which was quietly published on Friday night, shows that 98 of those captured this year while attempting to enter the United States at the southern border were either suspected terrorists or members of terrorist organizations.
BREAKING ~ FRI PM DUMP ~ @CBP rls record-breaking migrant encounter numbers for Sept – 227,547 – bringing the FY22 total to: 2,378,944 – the highest ever in history.
Also unprecedented – 20 arrests of known/suspected terrorists on FBI list – for total of 98 in FY22 @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/BA7mCyLeCf
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) October 22, 2022
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin highlighted the data, noting that it is nearly four times as high as the prior five years put together.
BREAKING: There were 20 arrests of known or suspected terrorists on the FBI’s terror watchlist at the border in September, according to new CBP numbers.
FY’22 ended with 98 terror watchlist arrests.
That’s almost quadruple the previous 5 years combined.
FY17-FY21 = 26@FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 22, 2022
According to earlier data from 2019, there were no terror suspects found at the border.
If you would like to view the numbers for yourself, here is a CBP link to the data. Scroll down to the “Terrorist Screening Dataset Encounters”, and look at Border Patrol arrests (in between ports of entry), OFO is ports of entry which is CBP, not BP. https://t.co/RqigZLtdrt
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 24, 2022
According to CBP sources, there have been nearly a million “gotaways” since the start of last year, with more than 500,000 occurring just this year.
ARTICLE: https://t.co/40nuLq6EwL
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 20, 2022
Fox News’ @BillFOXLA: 78 people on the terror watchlist have been arrested at the border in 2022, “triple the previous 5 years combined.”
How many of the 850,000 “gotaways” are on the terror watchlist? pic.twitter.com/s2RurD4UY8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 20, 2022
Nearly 2.4 million migrants have been spotted at the border so far this year, with over 227,000 arriving only in September.
BORDER RECAP
– 227,547 migrant encounters in September ‘22, highest Sept. ever recorded.
– 2.37 million encounters in FY’22, the highest fiscal year ever recorded.
– 856 migrant deaths at border in FY’22, highest ever recorded.
– 599,000 *known* gotaways in FY’22.@FoxNews— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 22, 2022
Additionally, a record number of people passed away.
HIGHEST NUMBER EVER RECORDED: FY 2022 had 856 migrant deaths.
In addition, CBP reports:
-Migrant Encounters Sept 2022: 227,547
-Migrant Encounters FY 2022: 2,378,944@BillFOXLA continues to cover live from Eagle Pass:@BillHemmer @DanaPerino pic.twitter.com/A42prYE1kt— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) October 24, 2022
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, responded to the most recent data release by saying in a statement on Monday that “our adversaries know they can access our country through our failed border.”
The chairman of the Senate’s homeland security appropriations subcommittee and a leading Republican senator from West Virginia, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, added that the Border Patrol is “overrun” and that “the repercussions of these lax enforcement measures should alarm every single American.”
The latest data also reveals that, compared to five years ago, the Feds intercepted over 15,000 pounds of fentanyl from smugglers trying to cross the border.
One port of entry, one weekend. 5 major fentanyl smuggling busts by CBP. https://t.co/t78zlMmYqc
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 25, 2022
HAPPENING NOW: @TxDPS disrupted a human smuggling attempt on IH 35 in Cotulla. The driver attempted to smuggle 60+ illegal immigrants concealed inside a dump truck. Driver arrested & illegal immigrants turned over to #USBP – more details to come. #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/7AbYwP2AFg
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) October 25, 2022
The driver, seen smirking in a photo, was an 18-year-old U.S. citizen, per @TxDPS. They say he had 10 bundles of what turned out to be 240lbs of marijuana. The other drug smugglers successfully made it back to Mexico without apprehension. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/s6cQMFBjVu
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 24, 2022