Border Arrests of Illegal Immigrants With Criminal Records Hit New High in 2023; ICE Arrests Underscore Immigration Vetting Concerns; Thousands of ‘Special Interest Aliens’ Posing Potential National Security Risks Entering via CBP One App

By admin On Nov 14, 2023

Border arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal records hit new high in 2023:

Federal law enforcement arrested a record-high number of non-U.S. citizens at the border over the past year who were convicted criminals.

More than 15,000 non-U.S. citizens with criminal convictions were caught at the border attempting to sneak into the United States, primarily from Mexico, in the government’s fiscal 2023, which ended in September. The uptick in arrests comes as the Biden administration grapples with historically high illegal immigration levels.

Newly released U.S. Customs and Border Protection data revealed that Border Patrol agents arrested 15,267 people in fiscal 2023 who had been convicted in court of carrying out a crime in the United States or another country. Most likely, most were convicted in the U.S. based on lack of access to international criminal databases beyond terror watch lists and most wanted lists.

Criminal noncitizen encounters were up from 12,028 in 2022, according to government data. CBP only posts seven years of data online, and arrests each year have ranged from 2,438 to 12,028.

While illegally entering the country is a federal crime, the criminals arrested this past year had previously committed and been convicted of a different crime, such as armed robbery, drug distribution, or murder. Traffic tickets and lesser infractions, such as shoplifting or disorderly conduct, are not considered to be criminal offenses in this dataset. —>READ MORE HERE

ICE arrests underscore immigration vetting concerns:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released new data revealing Immigration and Custom Efforts (ICE) detentions highlight growing concerns about the nation’s vetting process.

On Thursday, federal agents arrested a Venezuelan man who omitted his homicide conviction and was released with a notice to appear, which he failed to do. A man wanted in Senegal for terrorism, roamed New York City freely for weeks before ICE detained him in October.

Special interest countries saw more than 76,000 migrants enter the U.S. in the fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30. In October, the 2024 fiscal year started as the third-highest month on record, with more than 241,000 migrants encountered at the southern border, as per CBP sources.

There’s a particular focus on countries in the Middle East, possibly influenced by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

A total of 655 people entered the U.S. from Afghanistan — up from 320 in September. This includes 129 from Syria, 65 from Egypt and about 100 others from Iran, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.