Nearly 100 illegal immigrants on the FBI’s terror watch list were released into the U.S. after being apprehended by the Border Patrol, a number certain to reignite the debate over the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of border security.
The surprising number comes from Department of Homeland Security data released by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday.
The data was revealed as the spotlight is turned on Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in Biden’s border policy. After years of media reports referring to Harris as Biden’s “border czar,” Democrats now insist she never held that position in the administration.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign immediately linked Harris to the troubling DHS revelations.
“That means the Harris-Biden administration knew they were suspected terrorists — but released them into our communities anyway,” Trump’s campaign stated. “This isn’t just incompetence — it’s criminal negligence.”
Polls show Americans are very concerned about the impact of illegal immigration, which set multiple records during the time Harris was tasked by Biden to address “root causes” of migration from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras).
During Harris’ time on the job, illegal crossings from those four countries were 140 percent higher than during the Trump presidency.
New Hampshire Republicans have made illegal immigration a priority in their campaigns.
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a GOP candidate for governor, called the information “astonishing” and said it “shows the continued failure of the Biden-Harris administration at securing our border and keeping us safe, and why it is critical that we elect President Trump.”
“This is also the latest proof of why we cannot have the sanctuary policies my opponents support,” Ayotte added. “As governor, I will never let us become a sanctuary state or provide driver’s licenses or other benefits to illegal immigrants, and I will do everything in my power to keep our communities safe.”
Ayotte’s primary opponent, former state Senate president Chuck Morse, said “The fact that individuals flagged on the FBI’s terror watch list were able to enter and remain in our country highlights the significant vulnerabilities behind (President) Joe Biden’s porous border plan. These lapses in security pose a direct threat to the safety and well-being of our families and communities.”
Morse also called on Republicans to rally around Trump and noted that New Hampshire’s northern border with Canada has also experienced illegal crossings.
“New Hampshire’s next governor must be a strong leader who will stand up to ban sanctuary cities, secure our northern border, and oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. I am the only leader Granite Staters can trust to do all three.”
Both former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington — the two leading Democratic candidates for governor — declined to respond to a request for comment on the DHS data.
Meanwhile, Republican candidates angling to succeed outgoing Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster — who currently represents the district containing New Hampshire’s border with Canada — are also speaking out.
“The fact that illegal immigrants on the FBI Terror Watch List are being caught at the border shows that our insecure borders are a national security issue,” Lincoln, N.H. entrepreneur Vikram Mansharamani told NHJournal. “And the fact that they were then released into the U.S. is absolutely outrageous. This is further proof that Kamala Harris has been an abject failure as the Border Czar.”
Lily Tang Williams, another Republican candidate, pointed to record-breaking numbers of illegal entries by way of the Swanton Sector of the northern Canadian border, which includes New Hampshire.
“This puts the American people and Granite Staters in serious danger,” Tang Williams told NHJournal. “Protecting American citizens is not a Democrat or Republican issue.
And Bill Hamlen of Hanover, who’s also running in the NH-02 GOP primary, told NHJournal “these statistics are terrifying.”
“We need to close our borders to the incessant flow of human trafficking, fentanyl, and terrorists,” Hamlen added. “To protect our nation, we must take border security seriously.”
The two Second Congressional District Democratic candidates, Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern, were also unwilling to comment.
Releasing people on the terror watch list into the U.S. isn’t the only scandal DHS is dealing with.
The agency abruptly halted a controversial program that flew up to 30,000 migrants per month into the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, without notifying local communities. The migrants were then granted parole, or permission, to remain in the country if they met certain conditions.
An internal report determined the program was affected by widespread fraud, including instances of identical Social Security information, addresses, and phone numbers being used “hundreds of times in some cases” amid other examples of identity fraud.
Earlier this year, a Haitian man who entered Massachusetts via the DHS parole program was charged with raping a disabled 15-year-old girl at a hotel-turned-shelter in Rockland.
Gov. Maura Healey (D-Mass.), commenting on the incident, made headlines when she told a reporter, “from time to time, things will happen.”
Last month, a Massachusetts judge freed the alleged assailant, Cory B. Alvarez, on $500 bail.
Alvarez’s current whereabouts are unknown, according to reports.
