CBP Data Reveals Thousands of “Special Interest Aliens” Apprehended at US Border
Border Patrol sources say they have concerns about who is coming into the country because they have little to no way of vetting people from these countries.
Internal CBP data provided and confirmed by CBP sources reveals that thousands of “special interest aliens” from mostly Middle Eastern countries have been apprehended by Border Patrol while crossing into the US illegally over the last two years.
A special interest alien is a term used by the U.S. government to refer to people coming from countries that have conditions that favor or harbor terrorism, or pose a potential national security threat to the US.
According to the data, the following number of special interest aliens from the listed countries were apprehended by Border Patrol between October 1, 2021 and October 4, 2023:
- Syria: 538
- Yemen: 139
- Iran: 659
- Iraq: 123
- Afghanistan: 6,386
- Lebanon: 164
- Egypt: 3,153
- Pakistan: 1,613
- Mauritania: 15,594
- Uzbekistan: 13,624
- Turkey: 30,830
Border Patrol sources tell me they have extreme concerns about who is coming into the country because they have little to no way of vetting people from these special interest countries. They say that unless someone has committed a crime previously in the US or is on some sort of federal watchlist, there is no way to know who they are because most of their home countries do not share data or records with the US. This means that there is nothing to match a name to when Border Patrol agents run fingerprints.
The Biden administration has been under fire from Republicans for its handling of the border crisis. Republicans have accused the administration of not doing enough to stop illegal immigration and have called for the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border.
The Biden administration has defended its handling of the border crisis, saying that it is working to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty and violence in Central America. The administration has also said that it is committed to securing the border in a humane and orderly way.
The issue of illegal immigration is likely to remain a contentious issue in the US for the foreseeable future.
Source: Bill Melugin
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