White House says terrorist encounters at border are ‘uncommon,’ touts Border Patrol for ‘doing their job’

The White House on Monday said encounters with suspected terrorists at the U.S. Southern Border are “uncommon,” after 23 individuals on the terror watchlist were apprehended in 2021.

Fox News first reported on Monday that U.S. Border Patrol apprehended at least 23 people coming across the southern border whose names were on the terror watchlist in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

Between Jan. 20 and Dec. 27, 2021, there were 23 encounters with individuals whose names matched on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB).

Four were in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, 4 in Del Rio Sector, 3 in El Paso Sector, 2 in Tucson Sector, 2 in Yuma Sector, 4 in El Centro Sector and 4 in San Diego Sector. The information was provided to Fox News in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted in December.

When asked for reaction from the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said the data “means the Border Patrol was doing their job.”

“I mean, they apprehended people at the border,” Psaki said.

Psaki said that “suspected terrorists attempting to cross the Southern Border” are “very uncommon.”

“We’re talking about a few dozen annual encounters at most— at most,” Psaki said, adding that the encounters represent “significantly less than one percent.” – READ MORE