Calling the influx of illegal immigrants at the nation’s southern border “an unprecedented crisis,” U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Steve Daines (R-MT) joined eight of their Republican colleagues in seeking answers about the problem from both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It is evident that the agencies responsible for securing our nation’s southern border have failed to effectively communicate with and notify each other of terrorists that pose threats to American citizens illegally entering the country,” wrote the senators in a June 20 letter sent to Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller and ICE Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner.
“The flow of illegal immigration has surged under the Biden administration, allowing these criminals and terrorists to slip through the cracks of our immigration system,” they wrote. “Not only are these individuals breaking American laws by crossing the border illegally, but they also pose a significant national security risk.”
The senators pointed out that roughly 9.6 million individuals have illegally entered the United States since October 2021, and in fiscal year 2023 alone, 736 individuals with matches to the terror watchlist were encountered at land border ports of entry and between ports of entry.
“It has been well-documented that illegal immigrants who matched to the terror watchlist have been apprehended at the border,” the senators wrote, adding that a “systemic lack of information-sharing” has tied the hands of agency immigration enforcement officials on the frontlines.
“These officials work tirelessly to apprehend illegal immigrants daily, but they should not be handcuffed by agency leadership,” they wrote.
The senators requested that CBP and ICE provide responses to several questions within 30 days, such as what the current protocol is for resolving an inconclusive match to the terror watch list, and what their explanation is for why an illegal immigrant was recently released into the interior of the U.S. despite an inconclusive match through national security databases, among others.