Border Patrol Apprehends Record Number of Terror Watchlist Suspects Entering Country

U.S. Border Patrol has intercepted a record number of illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2023 who are on the federal terror watchlist, leading lawmakers to question the competence of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas prepares to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill on Nov. 15, 2022. Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

Starting in 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has kept records of the number of individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist encountered at the nation’s southern and northern borders.

And over that time, fiscal year 2023—which runs from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023—has already set a record for the most terrorist encounters.