18K Migrant Gotaways Reported in 1st 16 Days of New Year, Says USBP Chief

Border Patrol officials report that more than 18,000 migrants are known to have crossed the border without being apprehended during the first 16 days of FY24. During that same period, dozens of “Special Interest Aliens” from countries known to have ties to terrorism were apprehended. These two reports beg the question of just how many “Special Interest Aliens” are included in the gotaways.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens posted a report on X showing that more than 18,000 migrants are known to have crossed the border during the first 16 days of the new fiscal year without being apprehended. Known gotaways are migrants who are either seen crossing the border or other indications of crossings are found without the apprehension of the migrants.

Over 18K known gotaways in the first 16 days of FY24. These are individuals whose identities & purpose we do not know. That is why you need every Border Patrol agent to be in the field and on patrol. pic.twitter.com/uQlRgR76HQ

— Chief Jason Owens (@USBPChief) October 17, 2023

Finding signs of migrant gotaways requires that agents be in the field to make the observations. While some are spotted by electronic surveillance, the tracks of migrants shown by Owen’s post can only be found by patrolling agents. The current migrant surge has agents in the busiest sectors off the line to process migrants, Border Patrol sources previously told Breitbart Texas.

During the recently ended FY23, Border Patrol officials reported more than 664,000 migrants are known to have crossed the border without being apprehended, Breitbart Texas reported from unofficial sources.

During the 16-day period reported by Owens, dozens of migrants from “Special Interest” nations were apprehended after crossing the border. At least 11 migrants SIAs from the Middle East were apprehended in the Del Rio Sector alone, Breitbart Texas’ Randy Clark reported.

According to a 2019 DHS fact sheet, the term “Significant Interest Alien” (SIA) is defined as follows:

Generally, an SIA is a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.  Often such individuals or groups are employing travel patterns known or evaluated to possibly have a nexus to terrorism.  DHS analysis includes an examination of travel patterns, points of origin, and/or travel segments that are tied to current assessments of national and international threat environments.

This begs the question as to how many of the more than 18,000 known gotaways are from “Special Interest” nations.

Breitbart Texas reported last week that a Department of Homeland Security report revealed that more than 61,000 Special Interest Aliens (SIA) were apprehended during the recently ended Fiscal Year 23.