{"id":2627114,"date":"2026-07-09T06:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/12000-suspected-terrorists-anticipated-at-us-border-in-2026-but-theres-a-catch\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:42:21","slug":"12000-suspected-terrorists-anticipated-at-us-border-in-2026-but-theres-a-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/12000-suspected-terrorists-anticipated-at-us-border-in-2026-but-theres-a-catch\/","title":{"rendered":"12,000 suspected terrorists anticipated at US border in 2026, but there&#8217;s a catch"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F12000-suspected-terrorists-anticipated-at-us-border-in-2026-but-theres-a-catch%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2627114&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Federal law enforcement at U.S. borders is on track to apprehend nearly 20 times more individuals on the FBI\u2019s terrorist watch list this year compared to any previous year during the Biden administration, according to a Washington Examiner investigation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expects to encounter over 12,000 known or suspected terrorists along the borders with canada and Mexico, including at ports of entry and between crossing points. <\/p>\n<p>Experts beleive this surge is primarily due to former president Donald Trump\u2019s designation of at least 30 organizations, including several drug cartels and gangs, as international terrorist groups, which has led to increased watchlist encounters. Government officials confirm that the rise in terrorism-related border encounters is linked to these classifications rather than an actual increase in threat level from groups like ISIS or al qaeda. <\/p>\n<p>Data shows CBP encountered 736 individuals listed in the FBI\u2019s Terrorist Screening Database in 2023-the highest since 2019-and numbers are projected to increase considerably in 2026 if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-brexit-saved-britain\/\" title=\"How Brexit Saved Britain\">current trends continue<\/a>. The recent spike is mainly associated with the Mexican border, where over 8,000 suspects have been encountered between October 2025 and May 2026.<\/p>\n<p>While some experts emphasize that many of these groups are based in Latin America and pose different threats than Islamist terrorist organizations, they warn that the numbers may reflect new designations and expanded screening rather than a sudden rise in actual threats. Others note that the perceived increase might be partially due to improved border security and strategic deployment of agents, rather than a real escalation of terrorist activity.<\/p>\n<p>Critics warn that these statistics could be politically manipulated or misinterpreted; increased encounters do not necessarily indicate a rise in actual terrorist attempts but demonstrate enhanced capability to identify these individuals. officials stress that the broader context shows steady border security improvements, and the current data is largely a result of expanded classifications and detection efforts rather than increased danger.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal law enforcement at the nation\u2019s borders is on track to stop nearly 20 times as many people on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\" type=\"link\" id=\"washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\">FBI<\/a>\u2019s terrorist watch list this year than it did in any year during the Biden administration, according to a <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/customs-and-border-protection\">U.S. Customs and Border Protection<\/a>, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, is on track to encounter more than 12,000 known or suspected terrorists along the border with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/canada\">Canada<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mexico\">Mexico<\/a>, including at ports of entry where vehicles cross and between the ports where migrants attempt to enter illegally.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4640923\/texas-democrats-investigation-ice-shooting\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Texas Democrats call for investigation into ICE officer who fatally shot illegal immigrant<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4640494\/federal-immigration-officers-work-weigh-stations-arrest-immigrant-cdl-drivers-illegal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Federal immigration officers working weigh stations to arrest illegal immigrant CDL drivers<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4639228\/border-wall-construction-materials-big-bend-texas-local-pushback\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Border wall construction materials arrive at Big Bend National Park despite local pushback<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Current and former government officials, as well as immigration analysts, do not believe this phenomenon is the result of an increased threat from terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State or al Qaeda. Rather, they agreed that President Donald Trump\u2019s classification of at least 16 Western Hemisphere cartels and gangs as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-consider-enacting-statute-to-increase-punishments-for-domestic-terrorism\/\" title=\"Lawmakers consider enacting statute to increase punishments for domestic terrorism\">foreign terrorist organizations<\/a> in his second term is the reason the number of potential terrorists caught at the border has surged over the past year and a half.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DHS agreed with the views of those experts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy properly identifying these groups as foreign terrorist organizations and having operational control of the border, CBP has recorded a significant increase in terrorism-related encounters at the border,\u201d a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-what-the-data-show\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the data show<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government data show CBP agents between the ports and officers at the ports encountered 736 people listed in the FBI\u2019s Terrorist Screening Database in 2023, the highest annual number since 2019. Earlier data were not available, although two current officials who spoke with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> on the condition of anonymity were not aware of a previous year when that figure would have been higher.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CBP\u2019s \u201cTerrorist Screening Data Set Encounters\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=4640991&#038;action=edit\">chart<\/a> shows that the number of known and suspected terrorists being encountered at the border began to rise in fiscal 2025, when Trump took office again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As more groups were added to the FBI list, CBP began encountering significantly more terrorist suspects at the border, including over 4,000 in fiscal 2025, which ended in September 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That combined figure \u2014\u00a08,195 \u2014\u00a0represents the first eight months of fiscal 2026. At this rate, CBP would finish with 12,292 arrests by Sept. 30, which is 16 times higher than the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >record-setting 736 terrorist suspects nabbed<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Historically, total terrorist suspects encountered at the northern and southern borders have ranged between 150 and 750, with the large majority stopped at the Canadian ports of entry. However, this most recent uptick has favored the Mexican border.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between October 2025 and May 2026, CBP encountered 8,121 terrorist suspects at ports at both borders, in addition to 74 people who tried to enter the United States between ports.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\">Screenshot: U.S. Customs and Border Protection<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/Screenshot-2026-07-06-at-10.42.18-AM-e1783536003727.png?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Screenshot: U.S. Customs and Border Protection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-trump-s-designation-of-terrorist-organizations\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump\u2019s designation of terrorist organizations<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five immigration analysts and former senior CBP officials individually touted Trump\u2019s surge in terrorist organization designations as the primary reason for the uptick.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Theresa Cardinal Brown, a tenured immigration policy analyst and former CBP senior official, told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that Trump made 10 such designations during his first term, while former President Joe Biden made five, and former President Barack Obama made 22 across his two terms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump has designated 30 organizations as terrorist groups, automatically placing members of those groups and people affiliated with members on the FBI\u2019s terrorist list. The watch list also includes second- and third-degree connections to individuals believed to be suspected or known terrorists, such as family members, roommates, and close friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Trump designated key cartels and transnational criminal groups as foreign terrorist threats \u2014 recognizing their national-security danger and threat to the American Homeland,\u201d a DHS spokesperson said. \u201cThese designations target notorious organizations such as the C\u00e1rtel de Sinaloa, CJNG, and MS-13, and Tren de Aragua. These cartels and gangs rape, maim, murder, and smuggle drugs into American communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-not-all-terrorist-groups-are-the-same\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Not all \u2018terrorist\u2019 groups are the same<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of Trump\u2019s designations this time around included groups based in the Western Hemisphere as opposed to what Americans historically have viewed as terrorist groups, such as al Qaeda and ISIS out of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Lawmakers have warned in the 25 years since the 9\/11 terrorist attack that terrorists who wish to harm the U.S. could sneak into the country at the southern border, but Brown noted that the cartels and gangs in Latin America that have long crossed the border have a different intent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you start talking about a high number of people on the [Terrorist Screening Database] being encountered, what tends to happen is people assume that means, \u2018Oh my god, there\u2019s a lot of terrorists trying to cross in,&#8217;\u201d said Brown, nonresident immigration law and policy fellow at Cornell Law School and president and CEO of Cardinal North Strategies. \u201cI don\u2019t think that is the right interpretation of these numbers. I think these are people who are from newly designated organizations, who didn\u2019t know that they have now been designated and therefore their names are on a watch list and showed up at a port of entry and went, \u2018Oh my goodness.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Todd Bensman, who recently left his post at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence\u2019s National Counterterrorism Center, agreed with Brown\u2019s assessment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe percentage of Islamic terrorists of the traditional sort we\u2019ve worried about since 9\/11 is very small in this total.\u00a0That\u2019s because Mexican\/South American gangsters pose a very different more defused indirect kind of threat to the American general public while Islamist terrorists pose a very specific direct threat,\u201d Bensman wrote in an email. \u201cCartels and gangs import poisonous drugs and break a lot of violent crime laws, most often against one another is the typical model. By contrast, Islamists often want to kill large numbers of Americans wherever they can at random and so are naturally more feared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bensman urged the Trump administration to release a breakdown of the suspected terrorist statistics to show how many were from gangs and cartels in the Western Hemisphere versus terrorist groups overseas that wish to carry out targeted attacks on Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOtherwise, the reporting is not very meaningful,\u201d said Bensman, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-makes-false-claims-about-border-crisis-were-not-holding-children-in-cells-separating-from-parents\/\" title=\"Biden Makes False Claims About ... Crisis: \u2018We\u2019re Not\u2019 Holding Children \u2018In Cells,\u2019 Separating From Parents\">senior research fellow<\/a> at the conservative Heritage Foundation\u2019s Border Security and Immigration Center.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-other-reasons-for-the-uptick\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other reasons for the uptick<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A former senior CBP official said in a phone call on Tuesday that Border Patrol has been able to keep large numbers of agents on the border, not transporting immigrants or watching people in detention, because general illegal crossings have declined from the historic highs seen during the Biden administration. The result, he said, would likely be that people who do not want to get caught would attempt to cross between the ports, where Border Patrol is now carefully watching the horizon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simon Hankinson, senior research fellow at Heritage\u2019s Border Security and Immigration Center, pointed to the terrorist organization designations and improved state of border security as the reason the numbers have risen under Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnother reason could be the tightening of the border itself, meaning fewer gotaways, who would be more likely hiding something including cartel or gang history or connections,\u201d Hankinson wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, said related CBP data do not show an uptick in the number of criminal arrests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI just see this as an accounting issue, not something new that should alarm anyone,\u201d Bier wrote in an email. \u201cIt is worth-noting that the [FBI terrorist watch list] for ports of entry include U.S. citizens, so it\u2019s not even a reflection of \u2018migration\u2019 at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-putting-a-political-spin-on-the-data\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Putting a political spin on the data<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the terrorist data make sense in the context of the new cartel designations, they still may not be something the Trump administration wants to tout as evidence of bolstering border security.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrew Meehan, a former DHS official, said these types of data points are often a \u201cpolitical trap\u201d because they can be used to validate competing narratives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEncounter data reflects one aspect of CBP\u2019s operational capability, not the entirety of border security,\u201d Meehan wrote in an email. \u201cThe administration\u2019s challenge is that it has celebrated historically low illegal crossings as evidence of effective policy. Those messages create tension: if the border is secure, highlighting significant watchlist encounters can reinforce a perception of continued vulnerability, even though those encounters also demonstrate CBP\u2019s ability to identify and stop individuals of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4639228\/border-wall-construction-materials-big-bend-texas-local-pushback\/\">BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS ARRIVE AT BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK DESPITE LOCAL PUSHBACK<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To Meehan\u2019s point, Brown said an increase in general illegal immigrant arrests by Border Patrol or suspected terrorists at the border could very well be viewed as a good outcome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen the numbers of encounters go up, everyone\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my God. It\u2019s evidence of more people crossing,&#8217;\u201d Brown said. \u201cNo, it\u2019s evidence we\u2019re catching people. I think it is far more likely we are catching more of those people because of the increased designations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Border arrests of terrorists nearly 20x higher this year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2655,"featured_media":2627115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP25161733077194.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33102,33709,82459,49350],"class_list":["post-2627114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-border-control","tag-border-security","tag-terrorism-threats","tag-us-immigration"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP25161733077194.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2627114"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2627118,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627114\/revisions\/2627118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2627114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2627114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2627114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}