(TCenter Square) – More known or suspected terrorists were arrested on the North and Southwest borders in fiscal year 2023 than any other fiscal year in recorded history.
In fiscal year 2023, 659 known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) were apprehended trying to enter the United States illegally, with the majority apprehended at the northern border, according to CBP data last updated on September 15. The fiscal year ended on September 30.
In fiscal year 2023, 432 KST were apprehended on the northern border compared to 227 on the southwest border, for a total of 659, the largest number in recorded history.
These numbers do not include escapes, which are believed to also include KST. “Gotaways” is the official US Customs and Border Patrol term for those who enter the US illegally between ports of entry, do not return to Mexico or Canada, and are not apprehended. They add up to at least almost 1.7 million as of January 2021.
With people entering the U.S. illegally from more than 170 countries, former ICE chief Tom Homan told The Center Square that some of those countries they come from are sponsors of terrorism.
“If you don’t think about one of the 1.7 million [gotaways] comes from a country that sponsors terrorism, then you’re ignoring the data,” he said. “That’s what makes this a huge national security issue.”
KSTs are primarily arrested in two different ways by two different federal agents. Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers, who work at land ports of entry, are tasked with stopping “inadmissible” or illegal alien nationals, KSTs and a number of other individuals or contraband before entering the US.
Border Patrol agents work between ports of entry, patrolling the border to detain aliens who have already entered the US illegally.
OFO officers working northern ports of entry have made more arrests than those at southwest ports of entry in four of the past seven fiscal years. OFO agents have also historically detained more KSTs at ports of entry than Border Patrol agents between ports of entry due to a variety of factors.
In fiscal year 2023, OFO officers apprehended 429 KST at northern border ports of entry and 76 KST at southwest border land ports of entry, for a total of 505 at ports of entry entry to both borders.
Border Patrol agents detained 151 KST between ports of entry along the southwest border and three between ports of entry along the northern border, for a total of 154.
The Terrorist Detection Dataset is the federal database that contains sensitive information about terrorist identities, CBP said. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watch list “to house information about known or suspected terrorists, but has evolved over the past decade to include additional individuals who pose a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of individuals in the watch list”.
In comparison, OFO and Border Patrol agents apprehended a total of 478 KST in FY 2022, 173 in FY 2021, 199 in FY 2020, 541 in FY 2019, 357 in fiscal year 2018 and 353 in fiscal year 2017.
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