Border crisis: fewer encounters, more terrorist list arrests
Illegal alien arrivals were down in June, however, arrests of those considered dangerous, exceeded those of all of last year in just six months.
(CBP)
June marked a turning point in the arrival of illegal immigrants, but also in the arrests of persons on the terrorism suspects list, which surpassed in the first six months of 2023 all those apprehended last fiscal year. For the first time since 2020, The number of encounters was lower than the figures for the same month during the previous year.
Nearly 36,000 fewer encounters than in the same month in 2022
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, 211,575 people were apprehended last month. This figure is significantly lower than the number of encounters recorded in 2022 (247,523) and close to those of 2021 (207,823). The fear of a more restrictive interpretation of the measures included in the Title 8 announced by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas on the eve of the end of the Title 42 and uncertainty about the Biden Administration's behavior towards illegals has caused a significant number of illegals to remain on the other side of the border in expectation.
Arrests of suspected terrorists on the rise
However, the number of suspected terrorists attempting to enter the country has grown considerably. According to CBP data, more individuals listed in the Terrorist Screening Database (382) have been apprehended in the first half of the current fiscal year than in all of 2022 (380). It should be noted that the vast majority of these arrests took place on the country's northern border (321).
This trend is confirmed by Border Patrol data. Agents reported that the apprehension of non-national terrorism suspects at ports of entry so far in 2023 reached 143 persons (140 at the southern border). This is well above the 98 captured in all of 2022 and light years ahead of the 16 in 2021.
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