During a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray declined to comment on the significant increase in individuals on the terror watch list crossing the border.
When questioned by House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Committee member Mark Green about the sudden surge, Wray responded, "I can't really speak to, you know, to that issue. It's not in my lane."
However, Wray did acknowledge that the threats originating from the other side of the border are a significant concern for the FBI. He stated, "I can tell you that the threats that come from the other side of the border are very much consuming all 56 of our field offices, not just in border states."
According to data, there has been a notable increase in the number of individuals on the terror watch list crossing the border illegally. In the fiscal year 2023, 172 individuals on the watch list were apprehended between ports of entry. This number was 98 in the 2022 fiscal year and only 16 in 2021, the first full fiscal year under the Biden administration.
Since the start of the fiscal year 2024 in October, 13 people have been captured attempting to enter the US illegally through the northern or southern borders.
The southern border, in particular, has experienced a record-breaking influx of illegal crossings. In 2023, a staggering 2,475,699 people were encountered crossing into the US illegally. The numbers for October 2023 alone have already surpassed those of October 2022, with 240,988 encounters compared to 231,529.
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