1,500 Iranian Nationals Apprehended by Border Patrol During Biden Administration

During the four fiscal years of the Biden administration, approximately 1,500 Iranian nationals were apprehended by Border Patrol agents after illegally entering the United States. Officials say that nearly half of those were released into the U.S. interior.

Data obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that between FY21 and FY24, Border Patrol agents apprehended 1,510 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. Of those, 800 illegally entered the U.S. during FY24, President Joe Biden’s last full year in office. During the four years of the first administration of President Donald Trump, Border Patrol agents apprehended only 60 Iranian nationals.

Iranian migrant apprehensions by Border Patrol agents quickly escalated to 50 during FY21, 200 in FY22, 460 in FY23, and 800 in FY24. During the first two months of FY25, the number fell back to 50, according to the CBP report. These numbers do not include any Iranian nationals who entered the U.S. and became “gotaways” when they managed to slip by agents along the border.

CBP officials told Fox News that Border Patrol agents released 729 of the approximately 1,500 Iranian special interest aliens into the U.S. interior. By year, agents released 12 in FY21, 40 in FY22, 229 in FY23, and 448 in FY24.

Officials did not disclose how many, if any, of the 729 released Iranian nationals appear on the terrorist watchlist. All Iranian migrants entering the U.S. are classified as Special Interest Aliens. CBP reports obtained by Breitbart show that during the four fiscal years of the Biden administration, 394 special interest aliens were apprehended who appear on the Terrorist Screening Data Set (terrorist watch list). These include migrants from all Special Interest Alien nationalities.