Border Patrol arrests of migrants on terror watch list at southern border spike under Biden

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CBP reports 50 terror watchlist apprehensions in FY '22

Fox News' Bill Melugin reports on the border crisis from Hidalgo, Texas.

Border Patrol arrests of migrants on the terror watch list at the southern border in Fiscal Year 2022 has already eclipsed prior years – amid a massive migrant wave hitting the border.

In Fiscal Year 2022 there have been 50 arrests of migrants on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) at the southern border by Border Patrol between ports of entry. 

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT NEW RECORD IN MAY, AS NUMBERS KEEP RISING 

That’s compared to 15 in FY21, which was up from three in FY20 and zero in FY19. There were six in FY18 and two in FY17 -- meaning that the numbers this year are already higher than the previous five years combined.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) started posting the numbers online last month, after promising Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee who had peppered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with requests that the number of those encountered who were recorded on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) be given to Congress and made public.

Border Patrol arrests of migrants on the terror watch list at the southern border in Fiscal Year 2022 has already eclipsed prior years – amid a massive migrant wave hitting the border. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

CBP had previously stopped publicly posting updates on TSDB encounters at the border shortly after President Biden took office, labeling the information as "law enforcement sensitive" -- frustrating lawmakers in the process.

The numbers caught by Border Patrol at the southern border are one part of the total number of encounters at the border in general. 

CBP BEGINS REVEALING THE NUMBER OF POSSIBLE TERRORISTS NABBED AT THE BORDER AFTER MONTHS OF GOP PRESSURE

At the ports of entry at the northern and southern borders, there have so far been a total of 192 encounters (142 at the northern border and 50 at the southern border) by CBP’s Office of Field Operations. That’s compared to 157 in FY21, 196 in FY 20, 538 in FY19, 351 in FY 18 and 333 in FY17.

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The numbers come as CBP revealed this week that there were 239,416 migrant encounters in May -- which eclipses the 180,597 encountered in May 2021 and the 23,237 encountered in May 2020. It is also higher than the 235,478 encountered in April 2022, which itself set a new record for encounter

A high-level CBP source told Fox News that there have been 440,000 known gotaways since the fiscal year began in October -- with over 50,000 in May alone. Combined with the 400,000 known gotaways since the beginning of FY 2021, that means that more than 800,000 illegal immigrants have gotten past agents since October 2020 -- more than the entire population of Seattle.

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At the end of May, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also urged migrants not to make the journey while conceding that agents were facing "historic" numbers at the border.

"And numbers could rise further," Mayorkas said. "From confusion over recent court orders and as smuggle continue to peddle misinformation to make a profit: we are prepared."