Over 460 people on terror 'watch list' encountered by border agents in FY 2024

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, October 09, 2024

Border agents encountered over 400 individuals on the terror watch list in the months after receiving an intelligence notice last year warning of potential foreign terrorist fighters with ties to Hamas and Hezbollah attempting to cross into the United States. 

According to recent U.S. Customs and Border Protection data updated on Sept. 16, border and law enforcement agents have encountered at least 460 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database in the fiscal year 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024). The data comes from encounters at the northern and southern border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment. 

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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in San Diego issued a notice last year on the heels of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack against civilian populations in Israel, which resulted in the slaughter of at least 1,200 people and the abduction of hundreds of others. 

The document, titled “Foreign Fighters of Israel-Hamas Conflict May Potentially be Encountered at [the] Southwest Border,” warned that “foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or front countries in the Middle East through Mexico.”

The report provided “Questions of Interest” for individuals with potential ties to groups the U.S. has designated as terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or similar organizations. 

In response to the memo, the Republican-led House Committee on Homeland Security sent a letter last October to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting additional information on the matter and DHS’ efforts to address the national security threat. 

The letter held the Biden administration’s “open border policies” responsible for terrorists exploiting “glaring vulnerabilities” in security. Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, lawmakers have raised concerns about a record number of migrants illegally crossing the border. 

On Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security issued a public service announcement warning of potential threats in the United States on the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on civilians in southern Israel. The statement warned of “consistent calls” for violence from foreign terrorist organizations to their supporters in the West. 

“FTOs and other violent extremists likely will continue to exploit narratives related to the conflict to call for lone attackers to conduct violence in the United States,” the announcement stated. 

“Online messaging associated with FTOs and other violent extremists highlighting the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks could motivate threat actors across ideologies, including those who espouse violent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, to engage in violence,” the statement continued. “Individuals inspired by this online messaging could act alone to commit an attack with little to no warning.”

Last month, Aaron Heitke, the former chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol's San Diego sector, accused the Biden-Harris administration of attempting to conceal an increase in the number of illegal immigrants with terrorist ties entering the United States. 

Heitke testified during a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security hearing that, at times, there would be 2,000 or more illegal migrants, but he was instructed to keep them out of the sight of the media. 

The retired border official also said that from 2022 to 2023, the San Diego sector saw over 100 "significant interest aliens,” which he explained are migrants with terrorist ties. Under the previous administration, the San Diego sector arrested an average of 10 to 15 SIAs per year. 

“These are only the ones we caught," Heitke said. "At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public there was no threat at the border."