Washington, D.C. – Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-09) issued the following statement in response to a recent report from Judicial Watch noting the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) releasing an illegal alien on the terrorist watch list in Yuma, Arizona:

“What is happening along the Southern Border in Yuma is a disgrace.  In addition to Yuma being overrun by a flood of illegal aliens and deadly drugs, a terrorist on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist was recently released.  Shockingly, it took two weeks for this terrorist to be arrested.

Joe Biden has put our entire country and the safety of all Americans at risk because of his failed open-border policies.  Under Biden’s watch, more than 125 terrorists have crossed the southern border in the last eight months.   Imagine how many more that got away!

The Biden-created border crisis is completely out of control.  Because of the historically high number of illegals being welcomed into the United States by Joe Biden, dedicated border agents are overwhelmed and do not have the resources needed to prevent terrorists from simply walking into Yuma from Mexico.  Rather than spending more than $200 billion fighting a proxy war in Ukraine, Joe Biden must begin protecting American citizens and safeguarding our borders at home,” concluded Congressman Gosar.

Background:

Recent reports from Judicial Watch, a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, which promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law, confirm that the CBP released an illegal alien on the terrorist watchlist.  On April 17, 2022, officials screened a migrant in Yuma, Arizona, and determined he was not a terrorist threat; additional screenings days later at Palm Springs International Airport indicated otherwise. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was only able to apprehend the migrant two weeks after the discovery due to internal complications with their removal operations branch, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General reported.

For 27 straight months, more than 150,000 lawbreakers crossed the southern border, including more than 204,000 in May 2023.  Nearly seven million illegals have now poured into our country thanks to Biden’s reckless open border policies, including 125 on the terrorist watch list this fiscal year.  To put that into perspective, this total is more than the FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020 and FY2021 combined.