Border Patrol agents in Arizona released into the United States an illegal immigrant who was named on the FBI's terror watch list, which set off a weeks-long effort by federal agencies to locate and re-arrest the potentially dangerous individual, according to a new report.
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General released a blistering report Wednesday that faulted federal police organizations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Border Patrol for multiple missteps in its handling of illegal immigrants in custody, including avoidable mistakes, like emailing the wrong recipient.
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"[U.S. Customs and Border Protection] apprehended and subsequently released a migrant without providing information requested by the [FBI's Terrorist Screening Center] that would have confirmed they were a positive match with the Terrorist Watchlist," Inspector General Joseph Cuffari's office stated in the report.
The report stated that agents in Yuma, Arizona, apprehended an unnamed immigrant on April 17, 2022, and screened that person for national security threats.
FBI’s TSC determined at the time that the immigrant was an inconclusive Terrorist Watchlist match. The FBI's National Targeting Center then asked the Border Patrol to arrange an interview between the individual and the FBI. But the NTC emailed the wrong Border Patrol account, which resulted in Border Patrol not knowing that the FBI wanted to speak with the individual.
Additionally, the FBI obtained other background information about the immigrant but failed to share it internally between NTC and the TSC.
At one point, the FBI's TSC asked Border Patrol to provide other information on the immigrant, but Border Patrol did not respond.
One Border Patrol agent interviewed by the inspector general staff "explained that he and his colleagues try to respond to NTC emails as quickly as possible but were busy processing an increased flow of migrants."
"However, the senior Border Patrol official who oversees Yuma sector operations told us [Border Patrol agents] should have provided a response to the NTC," stated the report. "In this instance, the Yuma CPC processed the migrant on April 18, 2022, without first checking whether the NTC finished coordinating with the TSC. The NTC was still working to collect information for the TSC, when the Yuma CPC transferred the migrant for release on April 19, 2022."
On April 21, the immigrant attempted to pass through security at a checkpoint operated by officers of the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration at the Palm Springs International Airport in California.
"During pre-flight screening, the TSC obtained additional information from TSA and confirmed the migrant was a positive Terrorist Watchlist match," the report stated.
However, the immigrant was not stopped at security and boarded the flight to Tampa, Florida.
On April 22, 2022, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer detailed to the FBI's NTC office notified ICE's Miami office that an immigrant who was a confirmed match to a name on the terror watch list was within its jurisdiction and ought to be arrested immediately.
"Although ICE prioritized the arrest, Fugitive Operations did not receive the [government history of the immigrant] in the mail until 8 days after requesting it," the report stated. "[ICE's] Fugitive Operations wanted to review the migrant’s A-File before the arrest to enhance officer safety and help plan the operation. For example, if the A-File contained evidence that the migrant engaged in prior violence, awareness of this information could enhance officer safety during an arrest. The A-File could also have photographs to help officers identify the migrant during surveillance."
ICE officials told the inspector general that officers at its office in Yuma who were tasked with managing immigrants released into the country were handling approximately 1,000 people per day, which resulted in delays in shipping information on the immigrant to officials in Florida.
The immigrant was finally arrested by ICE on May 4, 2022, during a coordinated traffic stop.
DHS rebuked the inspector general report, and an official said on Wednesday afternoon that its "title and framing are misleading" because CBP had not been informed by the FBI that the person was a confirmed match for the terror watch list.
“This OIG report sensationalizes and mischaracterizes a complex case, in which CBP and ICE personnel took appropriate steps to ensure there was no threat to the public," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "Noncitizens encountered by CBP are thoroughly screened and vetted, and any individual determined to pose a threat to national security or public safety is detained.”
The inspector general’s report did not identify the immigrant, country of origin, or why the person was on the list. The report did not indicate where the person was transferred or facing criminal charges.
Terror watch list individuals make up a very small percentage of illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border, but those numbers have risen over the past two years.
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Border Patrol has caught 127 noncitizens listed on the FBI's terror watchlist who tried to enter the United States illegally since the start of fiscal 2023 in October 2022.
In fiscal 2022, when the Yuma incident occurred, Border Patrol arrested 98 suspects, which was the highest level in at least the last four years when comparable data are available. The 98 in 2022 and 127 thus far this year represent major spikes from zero in 2019.