Over 700 Iranian nationals released into US during Biden administration despite terrorism concerns

Over 1,500 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. astatine the confederate borderline were arrested during the Biden administration, and astir 50% of them were released backmost into the country, according to a elder U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source.

More specifically, Border Patrol agents arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals from fiscal twelvemonth 2021 done fiscal twelvemonth 2024. Of the 1,504 individuals who were arrested, 729 were released into the U.S.

The fig of Iranian nationals arrested astatine the confederate borderline accrued year-to-year, with 48 being arrested successful FY21; 197 successful FY22; 462 successful FY23 and 797 successful FY24.

Likewise, the fig of Iranian nationals released besides increased, with 12 successful FY21; 40 successful FY22; 229 successful FY23; and 448 successful FY24.

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Border patrol officers arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals astatine the confederate borderline nether the Biden administration, and released 729 of those arrested backmost into the U.S. (Nicolo Filippo Rosso/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It is unclear however galore of the Iranians released into the U.S. were connected the coercion watchlist, arsenic the Biden medication repeatedly denied Fox News’ Freedom of Information Act requests and appeals for the data. The Biden medication cited "privacy concerns" of the radical connected the list, arsenic good arsenic "minimal nationalist interest" for denying the requests.

Still, determination were implicit 2 cardinal known gotaways astatine the borderline during the Biden administration, and due to the fact that they were ne'er caught, determination is nary mode of knowing wherever the individuals were from.

All Iranians are considered "special involvement aliens" due to the fact that of nationalist information concerns. Therefore, they are expected to person enhanced vetting from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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Over 1,500 Iranian nationals were arrested by the borderline patrol astatine the confederate borderline nether the Biden administration, and astir fractional of them were released backmost into the U.S. (John Moore/Getty Images)

The quality comes arsenic U.S. officials dependable the alarm regarding the menace of terror-backed sleeper cells successful the state conscionable hours aft President Donald Trump ordered the palmy strikes connected cardinal atomic facilities wrong Iran.

Hours aft Trump addressed the federation astir the subject strikes, the DHS issued a memo sounding the alarm to a "heightened menace environment" successful the U.S.

While the bulletin did not mention immoderate circumstantial threats, it came arsenic Iranian officials vowed retaliation against the U.S.

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President Biden's borderline patrol released 729 Iranian nationals into the U.S. during his presidency, from 2021-2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and Fox News)

The bulletin points to instrumentality enforcement wrong the U.S. disrupting "multiple perchance lethal Iranian-backed plots" since 2020, portion noting the Iranian government’s unsuccessful attempts to people critics of its regime. 

The advisory comes aft Trump ordered subject strikes connected Iran’s cardinal atomic facilities successful what officials are calling "Operation Midnight Hammer," prompting instrumentality enforcement to beryllium connected precocious alert regarding the menace of overseas adversary operatives conducting an attack connected U.S. soil, with thousands of Iranian nationals antecedently crossing implicit the border. 

"Because of the unfastened borders, we are astatine a superior catch-up phase," Former FBI adjunct manager Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital. "We don't cognize wherever those 1000 Iranians are and who knows however galore others got crossed the border. We missed an accidental erstwhile they caught and released those thousand. We missed the accidental to stitchery intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We conscionable simply fto them go, which is gross negligence connected the portion of the Biden administration."

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The anticipation of overseas cells carrying retired a home panic crippled was pushed into the nationalist spotlight past twelvemonth aft national prosecutors announced a subordinate of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and 2 U.S.-nationals were arrested for allegedly plotting to execution then-President-elect Trump and a U.S. national captious of the Iranian regime. 

Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita, Danielle Wallace and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.