Thousands of Suspected Terrorists Try to Enter America Each Year

The porous southwest border—where Border Patrol says it catches just 35 to 40 percent of illegal crossers—poses a major security threat

The U.S.–Mexico border, where the border barrier is a small barbed wire fence, west of Nogales, Ariz., on May 23, 2018. The U.S. is on the right side of the fence. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—Every day, an average of 10 known or suspected terrorists are prevented from entering the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These are individuals flagged on a U.S. terror watch list; most are encountered at airports or even while still overseas as they apply for a visa.

On top of that, 3,000 “special-interest” aliens were apprehended at the southwest border last year, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Jan. 4.