The Department of Homeland Security has been under the spotlight over the past months as immigration and border security dominate political campaigns at both the local and presidential level. On Monday, DHS released a statement meant to clarify a report made public by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Tex.), which claimed that over 435,000 migrants with criminal records had been released by ICE as of July 21, with several GOP members, including Donald Trump, suggesting that the Biden administration's border policy was behind the number.
The entity, however, said that Republicans were "misinterpreting" the data as numbers actually go back decades and that the people are not jailed by ICE for various reasons — such as because they are currently incarcerated by federal, state or local authorities or because they have already served their criminal sentences but have not been deported.
DHS also provided this week an updated overview of several of the most prominent risks that are currently impacting the United States through its annual Homeland Threat Assessment (HTA). The sprawling report provides insights into the threats facing national security in the upcoming year "in order to assist federal, state, and local partners in preparing, preventing, and responding to an ever-evolving threat environment."
One of the biggest insights in the report is that DHS expects individuals with terrorist ties to continue to pose a threat to national security in the upcoming year, regardless of which candidate gets elected come November:
"Over the next year, we expect some individuals with terrorism ties and some criminal actors will continue their efforts to exploit migration flows and the complex border security environment to enter the United States"
The report outlines that both the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders remain potential entry points for individuals in the Terrorist Screening Data Set despite a drop in numbers compared to previous years. As of July 2024, the number of encounters with individuals on the watchlist at the Mexico border dropped to 139, compared to 216 during the same period in 2023. Similarly, 283 individuals were encountered at the U.S.-Canada border, down from 375 in the previous year.
Despite the decline, the report emphasizes that migrant flows remain influenced by a combination of factors, including poor economic and political conditions in their home countries, misinformation, and real or perceived shifts in U.S. immigration policy.
Findings also highlight a significant decline in overall migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border. Figures peaked in December 2023 but have since fallen to the lowest levels in over three years, attributed in part to heightened enforcement measures by Mexico and U.S. policy shifts. Changes to U.S. asylum rules and increased penalties for unauthorized border crossings are also believed to have contributed to these reductions.
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