On the same day it was reported that the number of illegal immigrants encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had shattered through another monthly record in December amid the worsening crisis at the southern border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that an Iranian national with ties to terrorism had been deported after entering the U.S. through its northern border last week.
ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) team in Buffalo, New York, said that the "unlawfully present Iranian national with ties to terrorism" was "removed" from the United States on December 21.
The individual — who is also a "permanent resident of Canada" according to ICE and is "wanted by Canadian authorities in assault charges" — reportedly tried getting into the United States on October 10 via the Rainbow Bridge Pedestrian Walkway near Niagara Falls. Border agents on the U.S. side turned him away to Canada's Border Services Agency (CBSA) instead of granting him entry.
Clearly not deterred, the Iranian national then tried again to enter the U.S. just two days later on October 12, this time via a different port of entry in Niagara Falls. "U.S. Border Patrol arrested him as he unlawfully entered the United States from Canada on or around the Whirpool Bridge Port of Entry in Niagara Falls without being admitted or paroled by a designated immigration official," ICE said.
After nearly a month in custody, the Buffalo ERO team "served the unlawfully present man with an expedited removal order" on November 8, and — despite being expedited — it took until December 21 for border agents to remove the individual to Canada under the Safe Third Country Agreement where he was turned over to Canadian border officials.
As Leah reported earlier this week, U.S. border agents "have already apprehended 31 individuals who are on the terror watchlist" in the first two months of fiscal year 2024. Like illegal immigration in general, the number of illegal immigrants whose identities are flagged on terror watch lists has increased significantly since President Biden took office:
A chart on the CBP website details the tallies for each year. In Fiscal Year 2017, there were two encounters, in FY 2018 officials apprehended six individuals, while three were caught in each FY 2019 and FY 2020. The number then jumped to 16 in FY 2021, to 98 in FY 2022, and border patrol encountered 172 in FY 2023.