Border Patrol agents apprehended a record 525 known or suspected terrorists attempting to enter the country in just the first nine months of this year, according to recent statistics. That number has increased since last year, when agents apprehended 98. 

The number of known or suspected terrorists crossing the border has skyrocketed under the Biden administration, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency. During the entire Trump administration, the Border Patrol reported just 14 apprehensions of terrorists attempting to enter the country.

Illegal migration has increased dramatically since President Joe Biden took office. Border Patrol has encountered 3.4 million migrants, including 900,000 “gotaways” — illegal immigrants that evade border security — since 2017. According to the Center Square, Border Patrol stopped a potential Saudi terrorist from entering the country in 2021, and, in May this year, it caught a man on the FBI terror watchlist from Afghanistan. 

Reported numbers do not accurately represent all known or suspected terrorists who attempted to cross the border. John Modlin, a chief Border Patrol agent, claimed gotaways pose a significant threat to safety at the border; an increase in migrants allows more terrorists to exploit the border crisis.

Biden’s Border Policies Help Terrorists

A fact sheet from the Department of Homeland Security claims that the Biden administration has limited resources necessary for border security to apprehend terrorists and criminals. Criminals often take advantage of the crisis at the border to exhaust these resources, according to a letter sent by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

At the beginning of his administration, Biden rolled back deterrent-focused policies, which halted illegal border crossings. He depleted border enforcement and implemented a 100-day moratorium on deportation in January 2021, sending a message that the administration would not enforce border security and refused to follow immigration law. 

GOP Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) blamed the Biden administration’s weak border security policies for the crisis. 

“President Biden’s administration removed many of the deterrent policies that were working to reduce the flow of illegal border crossings and keep cartels in check. For two years, we’ve watched a crisis unfold with little Oversight. No longer,” Comer said.

Emma Verrigni is a rising sophomore at Hillsdale College studying history and journalism. A member of The American Spectator’s 2023 intern class, Emma enjoys reading philosophy and the news.

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