he number of foreigners on the U.S. terrorist screening list who have tried illegally crossing into the United States has exploded ninefold since President Joe Biden took office, an alarming increase that experts say puts national security at risk.
So far in fiscal 2023, 140 people on the terror list have been apprehended between ports of entry, already crushing last year’s record of 98.
There were only three such crossings in the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency, and 16 in Biden’s first year.
The rapid growth in crossings by illegal aliens with terror ties is a warning sign that countries with bad intent may be trying to sneak potential terror cells into the United States, experts told Just the News.
“This un-secure border, it’s not simply a threat from possible criminals and others in South America, there are people from a variety of countries, not just China, who I think are sneaking in,” said Fred Fleitz, a long time CIA analyst who served as chief of staff to the National Security Council under Trump.
Added Mark Morgan, the former acting commissioner of the Customs Border Protection agency: “We literally could have the next terrorist sleeper cell in United States planning a terrorist attack, and we would have no idea.”
The pattern also has alarmed Congress, which began an investigation earlier this summer. Lawmakers said they are particularly concerned that there have been 1.5 million gotaways who have never been encountered illegally crossing the border, raising the possibility there are many more potential terrorists already in the country.
“These ‘known gotaways’ do not provide biometric or biographic information to USBP agents and continue their journey into the interior of the country without background checks against law enforcement databases,” Reps. Jim Jordan, James Comer and Mark Green wrote in a recent letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Terrorists and other bad actors will attempt to exploit weaknesses in border security and vetting procedures to infiltrate the United States. We fear these known gotaways could also include illegal aliens with terrorist ties,” they also wrote.
Jordan, Comer and Green chair three of the most powerful committees in Congress: Judiciary, Oversight and Homeland Security.
The lawmakers also cited a recent change in language by the Homeland Security Department, raising concerns that some illegal aliens with terror ties may not have been deported.
“Public facing information on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website now states that ‘[Terrorist Screening Data Set] watch-listed individuals encountered by [USBP] after entering the country without inspection may be detained and removed, to the extent possible under CBP policy, or turned over to another government agency for subsequent detention or law enforcement action, as appropriate,” the lawmakers write.
“It is unclear the extent to which actual legal impediments exist to prevent detention and removal of aliens with terrorist ties, as opposed to impediments imposed by the Biden administration’s misguided policies,” they added.
Concerns have been exacerbated by the recent revelation the Biden released an illegal alien with known terrorism ties, and it took two weeks to apprehend him.
