More than 1,500 Iranian nationals were apprehended after illegally crossing the US-Mexico border during the Biden administration, and nearly half were later released into the country.
According to a report by Fox News, between fiscal years 2021 and 2024, US Border Patrol agents arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals. Of those, 729 were released into the United States.
Due to national security concerns, Iranians who enter the US illegally are classified as “special interest aliens” and are supposed to undergo enhanced vetting by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It remains unclear how many of those released were on the terrorism watchlist.
The report comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. President Trump last week authorized strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran. In response, the DHS issued a bulletin warning of a “heightened threat environment in the United States.”
The alert, issued through the National Terrorism Advisory System, did not cite any specific threats but follows Iranian vows to retaliate and warnings over the possibility of attacks by so-called sleeper cells.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott reportedly sent a memo on Saturday that said “thousands of Iranian nationals have been documented entering the United States illegally and countless more were likely in the known and unknown got-a-ways.”
“Though we have not received any specific credible threats to share with you all currently, the threat of sleeper cells or sympathizers acting on their own, or at the behest of Iran has never been higher,” Scott said. He also urged CBP personnel to remain “vigilant.”
Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told Fox News that due to previous open border policies, the US is in a “serious catch-up phase.”
“We don’t know where those thousand Iranians are and who knows how many others got across the border. We missed an opportunity when they caught and released those thousand. We missed the opportunity to gather intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We just simply let them go, which is gross negligence on the part of the Biden administration,” Swecker added.
