Border Patrol Agents on 7,700 Suspected Terrorists Found: ‘No One Should Be Surprised’

The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) said it is not surprised by the leaked FBI terrorist report published by Breitbart Texas revealing over 7,700 terrorist encounters inside the United States.

“No one should be surprised by these numbers,” NBPC officials wrote. “For years now, we have been saying this to anyone who will listen.”

Border Patrol agents in their capacity as union officials with the NBPC have testified for many years that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have inflated apprehension rates and downplayed the numbers of arrests of illegal immigrants considered to be from countries of “special interest.”

“The Administration has been either too proud or too afraid to admit the border remains porous and unsecured,” NBPC officials wrote.

Breitbart Texas Editor-in-Chief Brandon Darby released a leaked FBI document on September 26 detailing 7,712 “Known or Suspected Terrorist Encounter,” inside the U.S. The “UNCLASSIFIED/LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE” labeled briefing from the Terrorist Screening Center revealed potential terrorist encounters between July 2015 and July 2016.

The NBPC officials wrote that their simply being right on this issue is not enough. Despite the fact that it established their credibility for being one of the few sources painting an accurate picture of our unsecured border, the NBPC officials expressed their frustration at the Obama Administration’s refusal to allow them to do their job.

“If we are going to protect our communities,” they wrote, “we must have the courage to be honest with the American people. The American public is demanding security. We will never be able to provide them that security if we are too insecure to admit that too many people, from unknown origins, are crossing the border too freely. When we recognize there is a problem, it only enables us to get better.”

“Americans will accept honesty, but they will not and should not allow the Agency’s continued unwillingness to act,” union officials continued. Today, we repeat our calls for openness, integrity, and honesty so that we can do the job the public demands of us.”

“It takes courage to have faith that people will understand we are not perfect,” they concluded. “The NBPC has the courage and the confidence that, when given the tools, resources, and support to secure the border, our agents will get the job done.”

(Disclosure: Breitbart Texas sponsored the Green Line podcast for the NBPC in an effort to provide a platform for agents to inform the public about the realities on the border and what Border Patrol agents face. Director Brandon Darby received an award from the Laredo chapter of the NBPC for his work in helping to defend and bring a voice to Border Patrol agents. Breitbart News assisted in covering funeral costs for a slain Border Patrol agent previously. Darby and Breitbart senior management have directly stated and shown that helping to bring a voice to the expressed needs and interests of Border Patrol agents is a top priority–personally, individually and together through Breitbart News.)

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.