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Kevin McCarthy and John Katko blame Joe Biden for 'terrorists' at border, Internet calls it Fox News 'fear porn'

Katko claimed that border agents had apprehended people on the terrorist watchlist in recent days, blaming Biden for rolling back former President Donald Trump's immigration policies

House Representative John Katko (R-NY) has claimed that the US-Mexico border is being exploited by terrorists due to the immigration policies of President Joe Biden. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) who joined Katko on a fact-finding trip with other House Republicans to the border near El Paso, Texas, echoed the sentiments and alleged that those on the terror watchlist from Yemen, Iran and Turkey were being caught at the border.

A group of Republican House members toured a migrant processing center and met with border officials during a visit to El Paso, Texas, on Monday, March 15. McCarthy led the Congressional delegation to discuss what he called "President Biden's border crisis". Katko claimed that border agents had apprehended people on the terrorist watchlist in recent days, blaming Biden for rolling back former President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

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Katko said, "People who they've got in the last few days... have been on the terror watchlist. Individuals that they have on the watch list for terrorism are now starting to exploit the Southern border. We need to wake up, we need to understand. Listen Mr President Biden, you're an OK guy. Why don't you just admit you made a mistake with this policy and go back to the way it was and keep America safe for all of us?"

He added, "And use that money that we're wasting down here on American citizens. The door should not be open and we should have immigration the right way." Katko also said, "People from Yemen and the Middle East are coming across the border now."

McCarthy echoed the sentiments, saying that he spoke to customs and border protection agents who briefed the GOP representatives before the press conference. McCarthy claimed that those reaching the US-Mexico border include not just Central American migrants, but also people from Iran, Yemen, Sri Lanka, China, Turkey and other countries.

McCarthy's comments have led many to call out the GOP lawmakers, with one user tweeting, "#1 Republicans just be making shit up #2 IF McCarthy is telling the truth then obviously CATCHING people on the terrorist watch list would be a good thing Either way, the criticism is bogus." 

Another wrote, "This isn’t happening. To be clear, this possibility on the southern border has been a concern to some of the NatSec community for a long time, but to suggest that it’s actively happening—miraculously as soon as Biden takes over—is nothing more than fearporn for Fox News."

Yale historian Dr Joanne Freeman tweeted, "This desperate casting about for an issue to panic people is exhausting to watch (and often ridiculous). Dr Seuss! Border terrorists!"

Are terrorists crossing the US-Mexico border?

While US Border Patrol agents arrested 11 Iranians in Arizona after they were found illegally entering the United States from Mexico, reports did not confirm whether those apprehended were on the terror watchlist. Rather, a statement from US Customs and Border Protection noted that Iran is a "special interest country" meaning that it is a country known by the US to have terrorists and terrorist organizations.

Yemeni nationals have also been caught crossing the American southern border illegally, but the last report of this comes from October 2020, before Biden was elected as the president and Trump was still in office. However, even then, the reports were inconclusive as to whether the apprehended individuals were on the terror watchlist.

A report from NBC News from January 2019 stated that, according to Justice Department public records and two former counterterrorism officials, no immigrant had been arrested at the southwest border on terrorism charges in recent years.

Another report from NBC News noted that US Customs and Border Protection encountered just six immigrants at ports of entry on the US-Mexico border in the first half of the fiscal year 2018, whose names were on the federal government's list of known or suspected terrorists.

Meanwhile, Representative Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) criticized McCarthy over his visit to the border and accused him of stoking fear of immigrants using the Latino community as "a prop".

She also pushed back on the Republicans' claims over individuals on the national terrorist watchlist crossing the southern border, telling reporters that she had held a meeting recently with border agents and that no mention was made of terrorism suspects crossing the border, according to The Washington Post.