austin, texas- Americans in the Lone Star state said they were concerned about who is entering the US illegally after Customs and Border Protection reported a spike in arrests of suspected terrorists and sex offenders trying to cross the border.
“Yeah, that’s very concerning,” Melina, a Texan, told Fox News. “Sex offenders? That’s scary.”
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Bleu, from Austin, agreed.
“Yeah, that’s obvious,” he told Fox News. “Of course you are worried.”
Authorities arrested 38 members of the terrorist watch list at the southern border since Oct. 1, according to CBP. border agents arrested 98 people on the terrorist watch list in 2022 and just 15 the year before.
BORDER PATROL NAUGHT 17 PEOPLE ON THE FBI’S TERROR WATCH LIST AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER IN DECEMBER
An illegal immigrant sneaks through a hole in the US-Mexico border wall in El Paso, Texas on December 19, 2022.
(PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
“It’s very concerning because we don’t know who is crossing over and endangering our citizens,” Beverly, who was visiting Austin from North Dakota with her twin sister, told Fox News.
Nicholas, from Waco, agreed.
“It’s a concern because we wanted to move around here,” he said. “If there are more people convicted, then it could be much more dangerous.”
BORDER PATROL SAYS THREE MORE CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS ARRESTED IN THREE DAYS
Authorities along the Del Rio border sector have 10 convicted sex offenders arrested so far this month and a total of 38 since Oct. 1, according to sector patrol chief Jason D. Owens. A total of 488 convicted sex offenders crossed the Southwest border into the US in 2021, compared to 156 in 2020 and just 58 in 2019, Fox News reported.
In addition, since October, there have been almost 300,000 known escapes — Illegal border crossers who were detected but evaded arrest, CBP sources told Fox News.
Illegal immigrants gather along the US-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas on December 22, 2022.
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Bleu, from Austin, said he believed authorities should handle the border crisis “in a smart way.”
“There are people who could use some help, people who really just want a shot here. And I think we need to be more open to that,” she told Fox News. “But at the same time, we need to be able to do it safely.“
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