Friday, Congressman August Pfluger, the Lead Republican on the Homeland Security Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee introduced legislation to require the Department of Homeland Security to publish the number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) and individuals who are included in the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) attempting to enter the U.S. on a monthly basis.
Rep. Pfluger: “Stopping terrorists from entering our country should not be a partisan issue. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has refused to release the number of potential terrorists who have been apprehended coming into this country by land, sea, or sky. My bill will restore transparency and accountability. Americans deserve to feel safe and secure within our borders.”
In March of 2021, Rep. Pfluger was part of the congressional delegation to El Paso, TX who uncovered that potential terrorists were being apprehended crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Since that time, DHS has refused to disclose the number of these potential terrorists to the public, despite repeated requests (here, here) from Rep. Pfluger and his Republican colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee.
Rep. Pfluger’s bill will codify in law that the Secretary must report on a publicly-available webpage no later than the 15th of each month the number of potential terrorists apprehended, the geographic regions where the encounters occurred, and how they were encountered (by land, air, or sea).