A recent claim by US Representative Claudia Tenney alleges that 99 or 100 immigrants on the “terrorist watchlist” were released into the US. This claim was made in opposition to New York state’s law allowing driver’s licenses for immigrants regardless of immigration status. The basis for this claim comes from a report by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, citing information provided by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The report states that 99 noncitizens on the watchlist were released into the US from 2021 to 2023.
However, US Customs and Border Protection data shows that encounters with individuals matching in ‘terrorism’ records are most commonly dealt with by inadmissibility, repatriation, removal, or detention. CBP statistics also show 250 encounters with people on the watchlist at the southern border during the years in question, suggesting multiple encounters with the same individuals.
While the House Judiciary Committee report implies that immigration authorities were aware of the individuals’ status on the list at the time of release, the accuracy of the report has been questioned by experts. There have been cases of individuals on the watchlist being released into the US, but these instances largely involved individuals whose status on the list was not known to immigration authorities when they crossed the border.
Overall, while there are known cases of people on the watchlist being released into the US, the policy of CBP is not to do so. The House Judiciary Committee report raises concerns about these releases, but the accuracy and specifics of the report have not been confirmed by DHS. Due to these uncertainties, the claim is not being rated on the Truth-O-Meter.
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