Border Chief Warned Not to Disclose Arrests of Migrants With Terror Ties
Aaron Heitke testifying during a September 18, 2024 House hearing
A retired Border Patrol agent told lawmakers Wednesday the Biden administration directed him not to disclose arrests of illegal border crossers classified as "Significant Interest Aliens" who had ties to terrorism.
Retired San Diego Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke made the revelation while testifying before the House Committee on Homeland Security, saying the Biden-Harris "open border policies have undermined our safety and security."
Heitke said the number of SIAs apprehended in the San Diego Sector increased exponentially from an average of 10 to 15 per year before President Joe Biden took office to more than 100 in both 2022 and 2023. And, Heitke said, those numbers don't take into account "gotaways" — migrants who cross into the country illegally but aren't apprehended.
Heitke told the committee, "At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIA's or mention any of the arrests." He said, "the administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border."
"The only true consequence we have to slow down and discourage people from coming to the United States illegally is sending them back to their country of origin," Heitke added, but under the Biden-Harris administration, he said, agents were instructed to do the opposite.
"For the first time in my 25 years and under five different administrations, whether through neglect or on purpose, I saw a large-scale lapse in our ability to return people to their country of origin. The inability to send people home meant that most people being arrested for illegal entry would either have to be detained or released," he said.
Customs and Border Protection data shows agents encountered or apprehended 1,856 individuals identified on the terror watch list as known or suspected terrorists between fiscal year 2021 and August of this year, according to a report by The Center Square.
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