International Courant
EXCLUSIVE: Customs and Border Safety (CBP) has rejected a request by Fox Information to disclose the nationalities of individuals on the FBI terror watchlist arrested on the border by Border Patrol, citing “privateness pursuits” of these concerned.
Fox filed a Freedom of Data Act (FOIA) request in October requesting the nationalities of suspects on the FBI terror watchlist arrested on the southern border coming into between ports of entry by Border Patrol.
Over six months later, CBP instructed Fox it won’t present the knowledge, though it acknowledges the knowledge is maintained within the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS).
The letter says it’s making use of exemptions to guard the disclosure of recordsdata that will create a “clearly unwarranted invasion of private privateness” and should stability a public’s proper to disclosure in opposition to a person’s proper to privateness.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY HIT NEW HIGH AMID NATIONAL SECURITY FEARS
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lined up for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Safety Sept. 23, 2023, in Eagle Move, Texas. (AP Photograph/Eric Homosexual, File)
“The privateness pursuits of the people within the data you’ve got requested outweigh any minimal public curiosity in disclosure of the knowledge. Any personal curiosity you could have in that info doesn’t issue into the aforementioned balancing take a look at,” it says.
It additionally cites exemptions that defend data that may disclose strategies or procedures for legislation enforcement investigation and those who may very well be anticipated to hazard the life or security of any particular person.
Fox didn’t request private info, solely the nations from which the encounters originated.
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There have to this point been 80 encounters of individuals between ports of entry this 12 months by Border Patrol who’re on the TSDS, in comparison with 172 in fiscal 12 months 2023 and 98 in fiscal 2022.
The TSDS comprises delicate info on terrorist identities. It initially contained solely recognized or suspected terrorists (KSTs) however now additionally consists of extra people who symbolize a “potential risk to the USA, together with recognized associates of watchlisted people.”
“Encounters of watchlisted people at our borders are very unusual, underscoring the essential work CBP Brokers and Officers perform daily on the frontlines,” CBP says on its web site. “DHS works tirelessly to safe our borders via a mix of extremely skilled personnel, floor and aerial monitoring programs, and strong intelligence and knowledge sharing networks.”
However the rejection of the FOIA request introduced speedy criticism from Republicans.
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“Wow: DHS thinks the “privateness” of potential nationwide safety threats is extra vital than the American individuals’s proper to know the place these people are coming from,” Republicans on the Home Homeland Safety Committee stated on X, previously referred to as Twitter.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox Information Digital, primarily overlaying immigration and border safety.
He may be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter.
Biden admin refuses to disclose terror watchlist nationalities as unlawful immigration explodes on his watch
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