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Terrorist watch list apprehensions at northern border continue to break records

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In July, Border Patrol agents apprehended 871 people trying to enter the U.S. illegally in the Swanton Sector at the northern border with Canada.

From The Centre Square

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The number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) apprehended at the northern border in the first six months of fiscal 2024 continue to outpace those apprehended at the southwest border.

There have been 143 KSTs apprehended at the northern border through the first six months of this fiscal year compared to 92 at the southwest border, according to the most recent CBP data.

Those apprehended are known to law enforcement and in the national Terrorist Screening Dataset, a federal database that contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watchlist “to house information on known or suspected terrorists but evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” CBP explains.

This is after the greatest number of foreign nationals were apprehended illegally entering through the northern border than at any time in U.S. history during the same time period, The Center Square reported.

The greatest number of KSTs to ever be apprehended in U.S. history was at the northern border in fiscal 2023 of 484. The next greatest number to be apprehended in U.S. history was 313 at the northern border in fiscal 2022, according to CBP data.

Overall, the greatest combined number of KSTs apprehended at both the northern and southerns borders was in fiscal 2023 of 736, The Center Square reported. The greatest number of KSTs have historically been apprehended at the northern border, outpacing those apprehended at the southwest border for years, The Center Square first reported.

“The alarming conclusion from these numbers is every day we have individuals that are on the FBI terrorist watch list that could have an intention to harm our country and are entering every single day,” former Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan told The Center Square. “It’s not if or when the threat tries to come to our country. We already know that’s happening already. The threat is already here,” he said, referring to the at least two million gotaways, those who illegally entered the country and evaded capture.

While total illegal entries at the northern border are “minuscule” compared to the southwest border, “the threat is not,” he said. “While there are shortages of resources across the board, the northern border doesn’t have the infrastructure, technology, personnel that the southwest border has. The northern border represents a threat.”

In his 30-plus-year law enforcement career, Morgan also served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also served for 20 years with the FBI in multiple capacities, targeting organized crime, gangs, and counterterrorism operations, among others.

Morgan was among a group of retired FBI counterintelligence officials to warn Congress in January that the presidents’ border policies had facilitated a “soft invasion” into the U.S. of military-age men coming from terror-linked regions, China and Russia.

“It would be difficult to overstate the danger represented by the presence inside our borders of what is comparatively a multi-division army of young single adult males from hostile nations and regions whose background, intent, or allegiance is completely unknown,” they warned. “They include individuals encountered by border officials and then possibly released into the country, along with the shockingly high estimate of ‘gotaways,’ meaning those who have entered and evaded apprehension.”

Of the more than 11 million foreign nationals who have illegally entered the U.S. since January 2021, the majority are single military age men, The Center Square has reported.

Every year the numbers break previous records; this fiscal year is no different. More than 1.7 million foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. in the first six months of fiscal 2024, the greatest number for this time period in U.S. history, The Center Square reported.

Among them are individuals with ties to the terrorist group ISIS, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned earlier this year, after making repeated remarks about heightened terrorist threats since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

House Republicans have demanded answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on how many KSTs have been released into the country.

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, introduced a bill to require federal agents to screen everyone who enters the country illegally against the terrorist watch list.

Morgan praised the work of CBP and Border Patrol agents apprehending KSTs but also raised concerns about those who weren’t being caught due to the sheer volume coming in and the fact that agents have been pulled away from their national security mandate.

“Every single day we have individuals on FBI terrorist watch list who are trying to come into the country,” Morgan told The Center Square. “If you think we are catching everybody, you live in a dream world. If you think we are able to identify everyone on the watch list as well, that’s not happening either.

“How many on the watchlist that we’ve apprehended who illegally came into the U.S. were released? How many have claimed asylum and we’ve let them in?

“Countless national security threats have gotten by us, and they are in the United States. We know nothing about them, where they are at, or what they are planning to do.”

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Daily Caller

Los Angeles Passes ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance In Wake Of Trump’s Deportation Plan

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Jason Hopkins

The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday designating the city as a “sanctuary city” following President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.

This measure prevents the use of local resources for immigration enforcement and prohibits city agencies from sharing information about undocumented residents with federal immigration authorities, according to The Associated Press. The council voted unanimously, aligning Los Angeles with numerous cities across the U.S. that have adopted similar policies.

The ordinance will undergo a second council vote for procedural reasons as Mayor Karen Bass, who has expressed support for the initiative, holds veto power but is unlikely to use it, AP reported. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez pointed out the city’s firm stance against cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We’re going to send a very clear message that the city of Los Angeles will not cooperate with ICE in any way,” Soto-Martinez said. “We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence crimes.”

Soto-Martinez also noted that many immigrants without legal status are integral to the community, working in roles such as housekeepers, nannies, and cooks, AP reported. While the ordinance highlights the city’s values, critics argue that Los Angeles already refrains from cooperating with federal immigration agencies, suggesting the policy may not bring significant operational changes.

Trump announced that former acting ICE Director Tom Homan will take on the role of border czar in his upcoming administration. Homan will oversee border operations, including deportations, security at land and sea entry points, and aviation safety measures.

Trump revealed Monday that he plans to declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to execute his mass deportation agenda. He confirmed reports from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who claimed the administration is ready to use emergency powers to address what he called the “Biden invasion.”

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Daily Caller

“I know three families that have gone to Canada.”: Locals Say Haitians Are Hoofing It Out Of Springfield After Trump Win

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Jason Hopkins

‘They Are Afraid’

Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio appear to be fleeing the city in droves after President-elect Donald Trump was declared the winner of the election, according to reports from locals.

The national spotlight shined on Springfield, a city of roughly 60,000 residents nestled in central Ohio, for weeks following unverified viral online claims that Haitians migrants had been spotted butchering a pet for consumption. The subsequent uproar about Springfield sparked further media debate about mass migration and its consequences, as Springfield has been dealing with an influx of Haitian migrants in a relatively short amount of time.

“The traffic situation seems to be better now,” longtime resident Barron Seelig said to the Daily Caller News Foundation, referring to widespread accounts from city residents in past months that Haitian drivers are causing mayhem on the roads.

While Seelig did speak about local rumors of impending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids possibly scaring Haitians away, he also mentioned recent crackdowns by highway patrol officers and added that some migrants are leaving because they don’t enjoy the Ohio winters. Another Springfield local told the DCNF that he heard it was virtually impossible to rent a U-Haul truck because so many Haitians are currently renting them — presumably to leave town.

Those who provide services to immigrant services in the city have also said that Trump’s election victory has prompted Haitians to flee en masse.

“Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” Margery Koveleski, who helps Haitian migrants manage government bureaucracy, told The Guardian. “People are leaving.”

“People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation” Jason Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said to the Guardian.

“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston,” Payen continued. “I know three families that have gone to Canada.”

Trump, for his part, has vowed to embark on a border enforcement agenda that will apply to the entire country.

During the campaign, Trump pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and conduct the “largest deportation program in American history,” and end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil to illegal migrant parents.

Trump said in October that he would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and “bring them back” to the country. The Biden-Harris administration has provided TPS — which temporarily gives deportation protections to its designees — to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals currently living in the U.S.

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