The number of people on the nation’s terror watch list who have been arrested at the southern border has soared under the Biden administration, according to a new report.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data jumped from just three arrests of individuals from the list at the border in 2020 to nearly 100 in 2022.
In 2023, a total of 38 individuals on the terror watch list have been arrested already at the southern border, pacing ahead of last’s year high of 98.
Terror watchlist arrests at the southern border are surging under President Biden.
FY’23: 38 (so far)
FY’22: 98
FY’21: 15
FY’20: 3
FY’19: 0
FY’18: 6
FY’17: 2Per CBP sources, there have been approximately 1.2 million *known* gotaways since Biden took office. @FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) January 22, 2023
In 2021, Biden’s first year in office, 15 arrests of individuals from the terror watch list occurred at the southern border. While the number was five times higher than the last year under the Trump administration, the statistics have spiked since 2022.
During the four years under then-President Donald Trump, only 11 individuals from the terror watch list were arrested.
The high numbers under the Biden administration do not include an unknown number of “gotaways,” people who have eluded Border Patrol while entering the U.S. The CBP has estimated approximately 1.2 million gotaways under the Biden administration, though the exact number is unknown.
The report of increased terror watch list arrests at the southern border add to record numbers of migrants crossing into the U.S. in December. CBP had 251,487 encounters with migrants last month, the highest number recorded the nation’s history.
As The Daily Wire reported, last month’s numbers, combined with the first two months of fiscal year 2023 — October and November — put the U.S. on track to have more than 2.87 million illegal alien encounters on the U.S. southern border this year. December’s statistics also mark ten straight months of 200,000 or more migrant encounters per month on the nation’s southern border.
The Biden administration’s border crisis led Texas Rep. Pat Fallon (R) to file articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Fallon introduced the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in the House earlier this month.
“Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border,” Fallon said in a statement to Fox News. “From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whip-gate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security.”
“His willful actions have eroded our immigration system, undermined border patrol morale, and jeopardized American national security. He has violated the law and it is time for him to go,” Fallon added.
In November, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called for Mayorkas to resign, hinting at the impeachment plan the GOP would pursue after taking back power of the House in January.
“If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate, every order, every action and every failure will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said during a press conference in El Paso, Texas.
Biden’s recent visit to El Paso coincided with an announcement concerning migrants to allow 30,000 people per month from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua to enter the U.S. The policy would also expand Title 42 expulsions to include all four countries.
Opponents argue that the changes provide no real solution to migrants crossing the border. The Biden plan instead switches the numbers around while failing to lower the number of overall migrants entering the U.S.