Record Numbers Are Crossing/Caught at the Border from Terrorist Countries

The illegal immigration crisis at the Southwest border is not just related to Central Americans crossing the border in droves, there’s also a record-high number of individuals coming from countries with “substantial terrorist ties,” says Texas Gov. Rick Perry.  “And when you think about the idea that some of them are from countries that have substantial terrorist ties – whether it’s Pakistan or Afghanistan or Syria – we are at historic record highs with individuals being apprehended from those countries.”

 

That assessment was supported by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who appeared last Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” and recalled the foiled Iranian plot in 2011 to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States.  “We noticed the very dangerous trend a few years ago,” Rogers said, “when the Iranian Qods force – their external terrorist group, if you will, supported by the country of Iran – was planning an operation to use the southern border to infiltrate people into the United States to kill the Saudi ambassador.”  “So, clearly our enemies and our adversaries under-stand that it is a weakness,” he continued.  “We have seen a trend of countries that we are very concerned about, a rise in individuals being apprehended at the border.  The scary part about that is those are just the ones that get apprehended.”

 

An intelligence report from the Customs and Border Protection breaks down some of those numbers: 22-individuals from Pakistan were caught attempting to sneak into the U.S. this year alone, with another 211-individuals either turning themselves in or being caught at official ports of entry; 13-Egyptians were caught trying to sneak into the U.S. this year alone, with another 168 either turning themselves in or being caught at official ports of entry; 4-individuals from Yemen were caught attempting to sneak into the U.S. by Border Patrol agents in 2014 alone, with another 34-individuals either turning themselves in or being caught attempting to sneak through official ports of entry.  Yemen is not the only nation with individuals who pose terror risks to the U.S. that the report indicates travel from.  The failed nation of Somalia, known as a hotbed of Islamic terror activity, was also referenced in the report.  Four individuals from Somalia were caught trying to sneak into the U.S. by Border Patrol agents in 2014, with another 290 either turned themselves in or were caught attempting to sneak in at official ports of entry.  This reporter previously covered the issue of illegal immigration into the U.S. from Somalia and other nations in the Horn of Africa.

 

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they figured out [the border] is a weakness in our national security,” Rogers said.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel