Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) presented HR 7733, the "Identifying Potential Terrorist at the Border Act of 2024," which would require Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to screen and detain all persons attempting to cross the southern border until it is determined that the immigrant does not match an individual included on the federal terror watch list.
Williams recalled that "currently it is practice but not law that CBP screen migrants against the terror database":
"Joe Biden is encouraging a deadly invasion of fighting-age men on American soil and each day this Democrat-created influx of illegal aliens allows bad actors to slip past Border Patrol undetected. Under current law, CBP is not required to screen migrants against the terrorist watchlist database, and as we have seen too often, dangerous criminals are released into our nation who go on to harm American citizens and communities," Rep. Williams explained in a statement posted on his official website.
He maintained that the bill "requires Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to screen and detain all individuals attempting to cross the border until the migrant is determined to not match with an individual listed on the Federal Terror Watchlist."
"Now more than ever, we must be aware of who is in our country as Republicans fight to restore law and order and end Biden’s deadly open border policies that are destroying America," the congressman stressed.
The proposal comes after it was reported that Border Patrol detained more terrorism suspects in 2023 than in the previous six years combined. The majority of encounters with agents at points of entry occurred on the southern border, while interceptions at border posts also skyrocketed in the north.
