Thursday, Jun. 6, 2024
Has President Joe Biden ‘let in’ nearly 1,700 people with links to terrorism?
Border agents have encountered individuals on the federal terrorist watchlist nearly 1,700 times since President Joe Biden took office — that means those people were stopped while trying to enter the U.S.
The latest figures show 1,664 encounters from fiscal 2021, starting Oct. 30, 2020, through May 15, 2024. That includes nearly three months before Biden was inaugurated.
The watchlist contains known or suspected terrorists and individuals “who represent a potential threat.”
About 78% of the encounters were at legal ports, where entry into the U.S. can be denied. The other 367 encounters occurred between legal ports, nearly all at the Southwest border. Those individuals may be detained and removed.
The 1,700 claim was made June 4 by Fox Business TV host Elizabeth MacDonald while interviewing U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
A Fox spokesperson provided no evidence that any of the encounters resulted in entries.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Associated Press Posts misrepresent border encounters with people on terror watchlist
- Google Docs Terrorist Screening Data Set Encounters as of June 5, 2024
- US Customs and Border Protection CBP Enforcement Statistics
- Fox Business Sen. Ron Johnson: Biden's border executive action 'proves point' he's had authority to keep the border closed
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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