(TheRedWire.com) – As of the end of May, there have been 125 arrests by the Border Patrol of people who are on the FBI’s terror watchlist. According to the new data released on Tuesday, there was a new record in the number of people arrested in FY 2023, beating FY 2022’s record of 98 encounters.
Border Patrol has made the arrests since the fiscal year started in October. The increase from 2022 to 2023 was not as significant as in previous years as in FY 2021; there were only 15 arrests; in FY 2020, there were three arrests, while in FY 2019, there were zero arrests at the southern border between the ports of entry.
Usually, the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations (OFO) encounters at ports of entry are higher than those between ports of entry. In FY 2023, for example, there have been 337 encounters at the northern and southern ports. In FY 2022, that number was slightly higher at 38; in FY 2021, there were 157 encounters.
The Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) is the watch list and government database containing information on identities connected to terrorism. According to the CBP, the watchlist was initially designed to be a consolidated watchlist that contained sensitive information about suspected and known terrorists. In the last decade, its purpose has expanded, and it now also includes individuals who could be considered a possible threat to the United States or who are affiliated with those individuals on the list.
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