Thousands of persons of interest from the Middle East have tried to cross the border since 2021
Members of the Border Patrol warn that agents have no possibility of checking the background of these people due to lack of collaboration from their countries of origin.
(CBP)
Internal data from the Border Patrol warns that thousands of "special interest aliens" (who are under the spotlight of the authorities) from the Middle East have been apprehended trying to illegally cross the border. These data reinforce the fears and warnings of bipartisan authorities and legislators after the Hamas terrorist massacre in Israel about the risk that the chaos on the southern border will facilitate a similar attack on American soil.
"Potential danger to US security"
The data, obtained by the Fox News journalist Bill Melugin, from sources within the Customs and Border Protection Agency, indicate that between 2021 and October 2023, more than 70,000 people "coming from countries with conditions that encourage or harbor terrorism, or that pose a potential danger to the national security of the United States," according to the Government's definition. Turkey, with more than 30,000, heads the list by nationality, followed by Mauritania (15,594) and Uzbekistan 13,624. Below 10,000 detained nationals, Afghanistan (6,386) and Egypt (3,153) follow. Among them, the Middle East is the most frequent area of origin.
Border Patrol agents expressed concern that, in addition to the waves of asylum seekers clogging the border with Mexico, they cannot control or investigate who are the people who are entering the country. Something that is especially pronounced when it comes to people arriving from one of these countries. According to officials, unless a person "has previously committed a crime in the US, or are on some type of federal watch list, there is no way to know who they are because most of their home countries do not share data/records with USA."
Republicans demand immediate measures at the border
This data confirms the warnings and reinforces the concern of relevant authorities and legislators, especially Republicans, who warned that what happened in Israel could be repeated in the United States due to the lack of border control. Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Kevin McCarthy and Ashley Moody, among many others, warned that " if it can happen in Israel, it can happen here."
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