U.S. Border Chief: There’s “Tremendous Concern” That Felons, Terrorists Among the Millions of Gotaways Entering the Country

During a congressional hearing, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection chief guard agent said that he was advising lawmakers. Tuesday Congressional hearing He has “tremendous concern” Terrorists and felons make up the majority of the millions of “gotaways” The southern border to the United States is reached by crossing the New York Post reported.

John Modlin (Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent) explained that the Border Patrol needs more resources in order to increase border security and manage the influx migrants. Modlin has been with Border Patrol since 1995.

In Modlin’s opening statement to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, he explained that many migrants crossing into the U.S. through the Tucson sector are single adult males, not families with small children.

Modlin claims that the Tucson Sector has an estimated population of 1.8 million. “arduous and inhospitable” 262-mile section. He explained that migrants trying to cross the border intentionally avoid detection and capture, as many of them are “previously deported felons” Who “pose a serious threat to our communities.”

Modlin was questioned by Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R). “Under the current situation, would it be possible for foreign intelligence assets to penetrate the United States’ interior?”

Modlin replied, “To speculate who could possibly be in the ‘gotaways,’ or the unknowns that we know, would just simply be speculation. All I can tell you is that it is a tremendous concern that anyone goes through the border undetected. But the reality is, we know there are people that are getting by.”

According to the Post in Fiscal Year 2022, Customs and Border Protection apprehended and detained 98 individuals who were on the terror watchlist. According to the Post, 38 individuals were apprehended at the border in fiscal 2023 after they were identified by Customs and Border Protection as terrorists, suspected terrorists or associated with terrorists.

“We went from what I would describe as ‘unprecedented’ to a point where I don’t have the correct adjective to describe what’s going on,” Modlin stated.

He suggested that the rise in encounters could be due to migrants believing that Biden supported open-border policy.

“Interviewing [migrants] post-arrest, what became the most common response was that they believed that when the administration changed, the policy changed, and that there was an open border,” Modlin spoke

The Border Patrol currently has 19300 agents, but it needs 22,000 to cope with the migrant crisis.

“Agency-wide, we recognize we need more people,” Modlin stated. “I certainly know I do not have enough agents within Tucson sector to deal with the flow that we’re dealing with now.”

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