FBI: Illegal Aliens Tried Nearly 48,000 Times to Purchase Firearms Over Past 25 Years

Gun shops say federal background checks work, but it’s difficult to know who’s in the country lawfully.

Henry Escobar, manager of MPP Guns in Phoenix, Ariz., stands behind the counter on Jan. 6, 2024. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

PHOENIX—The FBI logged more than 47,000 attempts by illegal aliens to purchase firearms at gun shops over the past 25 years, according to a group that monitors border security policy.

On Jan. 2, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reported the FBI currently has almost 14 million records of firearms applications that failed a national background check.