The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that terrorists from abroad are exploiting the border crisis created during the Biden administration to enter the United States.
The “Homeland Threat Assessment” for fiscal year 2024, published by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis last month, contains an admission by the agency that international terrorists are seeking to take advantage of the Biden administration’s lenient border policies and the subsequent surge in illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border to gain access to the American homeland.
Under the section titled, “Border and Immigration Security,” the report specifically noted how “terrorists and criminal actors may exploit the elevated flow and increasingly complex security environment to enter the United States.”
The agency further acknowledged that “individuals with potential terrorism connections” are actively attempting to enter the U.S. thanks to the ongoing crisis.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered approximately 160 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Data Set (TSDS) or “watchlist” before the conclusion of the 2023 fiscal year. This number exceeded the roughly 100 individuals encountered during the entire 2022 fiscal year.
According to the report, “Inclusion in the TSDS ranges from known associates of watchlisted individuals, such as family members, to individuals directly engaged in terrorist activity.”
President Joe Biden and his administration, despite their repeated claims of desiring a “secure” border, have actively taken steps to dismantle security measures. Shortly after taking office, Biden revoked the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, and he initiated the auctioning of border wall construction materials. Under this policy, individuals who crossed the border illegally and sought asylum were required to remain in a Latin American country until their court hearings.
According to The New York Post, since Joe Biden became vice president, nearly 7 million illegal immigrants have been “encountered” at the U.S.-Mexico border. This number does not include the “got aways,” individuals who managed to evade CBP officers.
In a separate development, Hamas, a terrorist organization based in Gaza with Iranian support, carried out a series of unprovoked attacks on Israel last month, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians. This DHS assessment had been released several weeks prior.
The attacks raised concerns that terrorist groups located outside the United States might exploit the country’s porous borders to gain entry and execute attacks. In response, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an order for “heightened public safety measures,” with a particular focus on protecting the state’s Jewish community. He is collaborating with local and federal law enforcement to counteract any potential terrorist threats.
DHS has released a new threat assessment in which it singles out Iran as the leading state-sponsor of terrorism worldwide and notes that Iran “intent to plot attacks against current and former US government officials.”
“Iran relies on individuals with pre-existing access to the United States for surveillance and lethal plotting—using dual nationals, members of criminal networks, and private investigators,” the report reads, adding that Tehran has even attempted to carry out plots “that do not require international travel for operatives.”
The report also highlighted Hezbollah, a terrorist organization based in Lebanon that receives support from Iran.
According to a report in The Washington Post, Border Patrol arrests of border jumpers increased by over 30 percent in August. During the last month, an unprecedented average of nearly 6,000 people crossed the border illegally, with approximately half of them being part of “family migrant units,” which included children.
Government data, as reported by CBS News, indicate that the United States has conducted fewer than one hundred deportations under a program initiated by the Biden administration in May. This program was established to discourage unlawful entries by migrant families.
