Border Patrol Captures Large Groups Of Single Adult Illegal Immigrants

Border Patrol Captures Large Groups Of Single Adult Illegal Immigrants

By Corinne Murdock |

Border Patrol agents are reporting encounters and apprehensions of large groups of hundreds of single adult illegal immigrants from across the globe.

Over the weekend and within a span of three hours, Tucson Sector agents apprehended two groups totaling 303 migrants representing 18 different countries. Most were single adults, and appeared to be males.

Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens reported the apprehension of seven felons over the weekend. The men involved had criminal pasts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, lewd acts with a child, mayhem or rape and burglary, assault with a weapon, alien smuggling, domestic violence, and possession or intent to deliver drugs.

The Hamas attack on Israel and ongoing conflict may or already has caused further strain on the border crisis. The Daily Caller obtained an internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) memo dated Oct. 20 warning of a potential increase of budding or active terrorists aligned with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or Hezbollah crossing the southern border.

“San Diego Field Office Intelligence Unit assesses that individuals inspired by, or reacting to the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border,” said the memo. “Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico.”

For the 2023 fiscal year (October 2022 through September) there were over 2 million illegal immigrants encountered at the southern border. That included a 27 percent increase in criminal or wanted illegal immigrants by Border Patrol: over 15,200 this year so far, compared to over 12,000 last year. Of those, nearly 1,000 had outstanding arrest wants or warrants.

That also includes an 18.6 percent increase in criminal or wanted illegal immigrants by the Office of Field Operations (OFO): over 20,100 so far this year, up from nearly 17,000 last year and 6,500 in 2021. This year’s total is nearly double that of the average Trump administration OFO year. 

Recidivism has increased from 7 percent in fiscal year 2019 to 26 percent in fiscal year 2020 and 27 percent in fiscal year 2021.

There were also 169 FBI terror watchlist individuals encountered at the southern border for the 2023 fiscal year, nearly doubling last year’s record of 98 and greater than the previous six fiscal years combined. 

These numbers are likely a significant undercount. There have been around two million gotaways over the past two years of the Biden administration. Gotaways refer to those detected but not encountered or apprehended.

Owens revealed that there were at least over 18,000 known gotaways in the first 16 days of this fiscal year (2024, which runs from this October through next September). 

“These are individuals whose identities & purpose we do not know,” said Owens. “That is why you need every Border Patrol agent to be in the field and on patrol.”

The number of gotaways reached 23,000 as of Monday, per CBP confirmation to Fox News.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Thousands Of ‘Special Interest Aliens’ Apprehended By Border Patrol In Last Two Years

Thousands Of ‘Special Interest Aliens’ Apprehended By Border Patrol In Last Two Years

By Daniel Stefanski |

Thousands of migrants from potentially troublesome countries are being apprehended at America’s southern border, while many others could be slipping past law enforcement.

On Tuesday, Fox News journalist Bill Melugin reported that “Internal CBP data provided & confirmed by CBP sources reveals thousands of ‘special interest aliens’ from mostly Middle Eastern countries have been apprehended by Border Patrol while crossing into U.S. illegally over last 2 years.”

Melugin clarified that “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 to the U.S.”

From 10/1/2021 to 10/4/2023, the following apprehensions by nation of origin were reported:

  • 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

The decorated reporter added some concerning context for his report, writing, “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. I’m told unless they have committed a crime previously in the US, or they are on some sort of federal watchlist, there’s no way to know who they are because most of their home countries don’t share data/records with the US so there is nothing to match a name to when BP agents run fingerprints.”

The number of apprehensions from ‘special interest countries’ follows continuing reports of an increase in the number of suspected terrorists who have been encountered this fiscal year, along with the ‘gotaways’ who have escaped detection from law enforcement. Over 150 suspected terrorists have already been nabbed over the past eleven months, which was a stark rise from the previous year (when 98 suspected terrorists were arrested at the southern border). According to CBP data, only 26 total suspected terrorists were apprehended at the southern border from Fiscal Years 17-21.

If the issues of “special interest nations” and “suspected terrorists” apprehensions weren’t bad enough for the country, the number of ‘gotaways’ present a far-greater problem for the United States. More than 1.5 million of these individuals are estimated to have escaped capture by border officials, meaning that they likely are anywhere within the American homeland. Adding to fears from law enforcement, the identities and motives of these aliens are almost entirely unknown.

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen addressed this danger in his statement about the horrific terrorist attack in Israel over the weekend. Petersen said, “Our own country must remain vigilant, as our wide open border, ignored by Joe Biden and Democrats, remains one of the greatest threats to our national security. This same situation can happen at anytime on our own soil, and we call on the federal government to take immediate action.”

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Another Terrorist Captured Illegally Crossing Border Day After Title 42 Ended

Another Terrorist Captured Illegally Crossing Border Day After Title 42 Ended

By Corinne Murdock |

Another FBI watchlist terrorist was apprehended crossing the border, this time one day after Title 42 ended.

The terrorist came from Pakistan and was apprehended in Ajo, according to information provided by unnamed federal sources to The Washington Examiner. The terrorist was captured within a wave of around 700 illegal immigrants crossing in the area. 

There has been a significant increase in terror watchlist apprehensions under Biden. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) disclosed on Wednesday that they’d apprehended 16 terrorists along the border in April alone — more than the total apprehensions from the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 fiscal years combined. 

According to data from December, terror watchlist arrests have increased over sixfold since Biden took office.

So far this fiscal year, there have been over 1.4 million southern border encounters. That’s nearly 134,000 more encounters than from the same time span from the last fiscal year (October 2021 through April 2022).

That brings the total border encounters under President Joe Biden to over 5.6 million. 

The average of these encounters totals over 201,000. If that average sustains through the remaining 21 months of Biden’s first term, there may be over 9.8 million illegal immigrant encounters by the end of next year.

Under former President Donald Trump, there were a total of over 2.3 million encounters. There may be four times as many illegal crossings by the end of Biden’s first term. 

Despite the continued onslaught of the border crisis, Arizona’s Democratic leaders have been hesitant to fully back proposed remedies.

Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) last week supported the termination of Title 42, but criticized the Biden administration’s lack of action on meaningful immigration reform and infrastructure.

“While the specific needs and requests of each border community varied, one similarity was clear: the administration has not done enough to meet their needs, and these local officials require additional resources, personnel, and funds to ensure our border stays secure and that the processing of asylum seekers is done in a humanitarian way,” stated Gallego.

That same day, Gallego issued another statement dismissing his Republican colleagues’ border proposals as an unserious “sham” perpetuating “cruel” Trump-era policies. The proposals included detainment of unaccompanied children, and restricting asylum outside of legal ports of entry.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-07) complained last August that too many Americans were caught up in the border crisis to notice the religious disrespect of illegal immigrants. Specifically, Grijalva complained that border agents were confiscating illegal Sikh immigrants’ religious items, such as their turbans and bracelets. 

“All these festering issues get overwritten because everybody starts screaming about the border and the invasion, and so these go into the background,” said Grijalva. “I don’t think they’re background issues. Border Patrol is the largest law enforcement agency with the least amount of accountability in the country. And that’s the problem.”

Democratic congressional candidate Kirsten Engel supported ending Title 42 last year as part of her prior, failed campaign, and denied the existence of the border crisis.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Border Crisis Continues With Record Numbers, Per November Report

Border Crisis Continues With Record Numbers, Per November Report

By Corinne Murdock |

The flood of illegal immigrants hasn’t slowed down in President Joe Biden’s border crisis, and it looks like it won’t anytime soon. According to Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) latest report, over 173,600 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the border in November — up nearly 5.5 percent from the previous month. The Office of Field Operations (OFO) accounted for much of that jump, reporting a 40 percent surge.

The majority of the fiscal year 2021 surge comes from single adults: nearly 64 percent. Less than 28 percent are family unit apprehensions (FMUA), and less than 8.5 percent are unaccompanied children (UC). 

On Thursday, Border Patrol (BP) Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin showcased one of their latest catches: three illegal immigrants stuffed in the trunk of a sedan.

As AZ Free News reported, Modlin has consistently documented the reality of border apprehensions. 

Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) criticized the Biden Administration for their continued lack of resolve over the border crisis. Gosar pointed out that more illegal immigrants crossed the border in the last three months than in all of former President Donald Trump’s final year in office.

“Mr. Biden’s open border policies are an open invitation to criminals and drug cartels to cross into our country unchecked,” said Gosar. “The crisis has reached a new level and Yuma, Arizona in my district is ground zero, as hundreds of illegal aliens cross into Yuma daily and even more are staging along the border waiting to simply walk across. Yuma is under siege because Mr. Biden and Border Czar Kamala Harris are nowhere to be found. The first priority of the President of the United States is to protect the people of America. Sadly, Joe Biden puts Americans last and he has lost the trust of its citizens.”

Amid the ongoing crisis, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected efforts to grant amnesty to up to 7 million illegal immigrants through the $2 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Based on Senate rules and nearly two centuries of precedent, MacDonough determined that the amnesty effort wouldn’t be permissible; reconciliation concerns spending and revenue, though Democrats have attempted to argue that immigration relates to those two subjects. That was the third proposal on illegal immigrant amnesty brought before MacDonough, which would have allowed those here illegally since at least 2010 to apply for up to two five-year work permits. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the ruling “deeply disappointing.” Psaki stated that their administration would continue working to secure amnesty.

“The decision by the parliamentarian is deeply disappointing and relegates millions to an uncertain and frightening future,” said Psaki. “Ultimately, it’s time for Congress to stop kicking the can down the road and finally provide certainty and stability to these groups, and make other badly needed reforms to our outdated immigration system.”

Conversely, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) applauded MacDonough’s opinion. FAIR President Dan Stein criticized Democrats’ attempts to abuse the reconciliation process.

“For the third time, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected attempts by Senate Democrats to use the budget reconciliation process to enact a sweeping amnesty for as many as 7 million illegal aliens. FAIR applauds Ms. MacDonough for her integrity and ensuring that longstanding rules of the Senate were not subverted to achieve partisan political ends,” stated Stein. “Sadly, Senate Democrats, who hold the majority in that body solely because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote, have made repeated attempts to use budget reconciliation to make an end run around normal legislative procedures. We hope that this, her third rejection of these tactics, will finally put an end to their efforts to abuse the process in order to reward illegal aliens.”

Governor Doug Ducey has been working with Border Patrol to strengthen enforcement. Earlier this month, he announced the Arizona National Guard would provide 24 personnel, six vehicles, four ATVs, and one helicopter to support the Department of Public Safety, as well as additional tactical assistance in hotspots. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.