Border Patrol Arrests Two Illegal Immigrants From Yemen On FBI Terror Watch List

Two illegal immigrants from Yemen have been arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection near Calexico, California. Both men were included on the FBI’s Terrorism Watch List and No-Fly list, CBP reported.

A 33-year-old and 26-year-old, both males, were apprehended in the past few months who appeared on both government watch lists. The older man was arrested during the night of January 29, during which border patrol agents “found a cellular phone sim card hidden underneath the insole of his shoe.” He was transferred into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The second illegal alien was arrested in late March and is in “federal custody pending removal.”

“Part of the Border Patrol’s mission states we will protect the country from terrorists,” Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino said in a press release. “Today, like every other day, our agents did that. These apprehensions at our border illustrates the importance of our mission and how we can never stop being vigilant in our everyday mission to protect this great country.”

As The Federalist reported, the arrests come after news that additional members of the watch lists were apprehended as well as news indicating Border Patrol agents are allowing thousands of illegal immigrants into the country because they are overwhelmed and unsupported by the current administration:The announcement comes less than a month after Axios reported that border patrol arrested at least four illegal aliens at the U.S.-Mexico border matching names listed in the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database since Oct. 1 of last year. Shortly before the report, corporate media outlets and Democrats clamored to deny and fact-check Republicans’ claims that Border Patrol arrested people from the terrorist watch list originating from countries such as “Yemen, Iran, Turkey.”

It also follows news that Border Patrol agents are letting nearly 1,000 illegal aliens cross the border every day unpursued because they are too focused on tending to the overwhelming number of unaccompanied minors and migrant families flooding holding centers. In March alone, approximately 160,000 illegal aliens, including more than 18,000 unaccompanied teens and kids, came under the care of border patrol agents manning overcrowded facilities.

While arresting people on the terrorist watch list or no-fly lists makes them seem dangerous, the truth is they may be on the list in error, as I reported years ago:

Here’s the thing: there are around 47,000 people on the no-fly list, and most don’t know they’re on it until they try to fly. You don’t get a notification about being put on the list. It’s a secret list—and not everyone on it is American.

One can get put on the no-fly list for traveling to certain countries at certain times—a broad category that could ensnare the innocent going to visit their families. What are “certain countries”? One can assume most of them are hotbeds for terrorism, where many of the people are themselves being terrorized by terrorists.

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There are around one million people on the terrorist watch list, and the criteria for being on that list is even broader than the no-fly list. It’s so broad, in fact, that journalists and (according to Democratic Representative Stephen Lynch) 72 staffers at the Department of Homeland Security are on the list.