Feds internal memo warns of terror on border

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz raised concerns about a federal memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation warning about Hamas and other terrorist organizations possibly crossing the southern border during an episode of his podcast that aired Monday.

The memo came from the San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which warned that the war between Israel and Hamas could lead to HamasPalestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hezbollah, all of which are U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Border patrol encounters with individuals whose names appear on the terror watchlist hit 172 at the southern and northern borders in fiscal year 2023, up from 98 in fiscal year 2022.

The San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sent the memo warning that due to the war between Israel and Hamas, there could be encounters of terror-tied individuals who are seeking to travel to or from the Middle East via transit across the southern border.