DHS Releases Terror Watchlist Individual as Illegal Immigrant

The Department of Homeland Security’s Mistake: Releasing an Illegal Immigrant on the Terrorist Watchlist

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently made a grave error by releasing an illegal immigrant into the United States who was on the terrorist watchlist. Shockingly, it took them two weeks to apprehend the migrant after the release, as revealed in a report from the department’s inspector general.

The report highlights multiple mistakes made by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) when they apprehended the individual in the Yuma, Arizona sector of the U.S. southern border in April 2022.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended and subsequently released a migrant without providing information requested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) that would have confirmed the migrant was a positive match with the Terrorist Screening Data Set (Terrorist Watchlist). This occurred because CBP’s ineffective practices and processes for resolving inconclusive matches with the Terrorist Watchlist led to multiple mistakes,” the report states.

According to the report, on April 17, 2022, Border Patrol apprehended a migrant and their family members in Yuma, Arizona. The report intentionally conceals the individual’s gender by using “their” and “them” pronouns.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until April 21, 2022, that the individual’s presence on the watchlist was discovered, prompting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take action. The local ICE office in Tampa believed that the migrant could pose a national security risk.

However, due to paperwork and miscommunication, the actual arrest did not occur until May 6. This delay has led the DHS inspector general to recommend that Border Patrol implement a better system for identifying individuals on the terrorist watchlist and improve information-sharing practices with ICE.

One of the reasons for the initial release was the overwhelming number of migrants being processed in the Yuma sector. Border Patrol agents explained that they were dealing with an increased flow of migrants, which put pressure on them to quickly process individuals and left less time for thorough file reviews.

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DHS has acknowledged the report’s findings and concurred with its recommendations. They have committed to taking steps to improve their system and ensure the effective and efficient screening, arrest, and removal of migrants who pose a threat to national security.

Since President Joe Biden took office, the border has experienced record-high border crossings, with millions of individuals seeking asylum status. This fiscal year alone, at least 125 individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist have been stopped at the border, leading some Republicans to claim that even more have managed to enter the country.

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