Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) is demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) crossing the southern border.
In a letter to Mayorkas on Wednesday, the congressman made the case for an “immediate briefing on the number of KSTs [known or suspected terrorists] that have been encountered at the southern border since January 2021,” which would include “their countries of origin, their terrorist group affiliations, any documented criminal or terrorist activity they may have engaged in” as well as information on their current whereabouts and how many have evaded capture by federal authorities.
In FY 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered 169 KSTs between ports of entry, setting a new KST arrest record and surpassing the KST encounter totals of the past six fiscal years combined. CBP recently issued a memo warning of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah members potentially crossing the border.
Representative Roy said, “These numbers are especially alarming considering the barbaric terrorist attack against our ally Israel and calls to action by Islamic terror groups. Therefore, I request an immediate briefing on the number of KSTs that have been encountered at the southern border since January 2021…”
Read the full letter here.
