Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants whose names are on the FBI's terror watch list reached an annual record high last month.
There were a total of 125 such arrests at the border at the end of May since the 2023 fiscal year began in October. Last fiscal year saw a then-record 98 arrests, and FY 2021 saw only 15 terror watch list arrests.
The record numbers come as Republican lawmakers have highlighted the "glaring vulnerabilities" at the border that terrorists can take advantage of.
Rep. Mark Green (R., Tenn.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, launched an investigation last month into the capture at the border of two individuals on the FBI’s terror watchlist.
Green said the arrests "raise serious questions about the security of our Southwest border and the potential for terrorists to take advantage of the glaring vulnerabilities due to the Biden-Harris administration’s open-border policies."
A month after the lapse of Title 42, migrants are still streaming into the country. Republicans warned China is likely using the crisis to sneak military operatives into the United States.