(New York Post) Overwhelmed US border agents say violent offenders and potential terror threats are not getting singled out from the thousands of people caught illegally infiltrating the country every day.
The border enforcers are sounding the alarm, saying they do not get enough time to effectively screen people before they are ordered to let them go — usually within three days.
Disorganized and uncooperative foreign governments with poor record-keeping also do not help, allowing a Colombian murderer, Somali terrorist and an Afghan on the terror watchlist to run free inside the country, the sources say.
“It’s a catch-and-release operation, so they bring in busloads of people, they fingerprint them and [run them through a system], and initially, a lot of times, nothing comes back on these people,” a Border Patrol agent said of the distastrous situation.
“The turnover is insane, it’s less than 72 hours.”
“We received direct orders from the top to literally ‘process faster,’ ” a third Border Patrol agent said.
Several recent arrests illustrate how border authorities released migrants before knowing exactly who they are dealing with.
Fugutive Colombian murderer
Border Patrol encountered a convicted murderer from Colombia, Efrain Vidales Vargas, 49, after he crossed illegally into San Luis, Ariz., on Nov. 27, 2023, federal authorities say.
Vargas was turned over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which learned of his criminal history Dec. 11, 2023, but still released him into the country two days later with a future court immigration date because the agency lacked detention space, according to NewsNation.
ICE eventually re-apprehended Vargas in Pittsfield, Mass., on May 6 after learning of an Interpol notice seeking his arrest, the outlet reported.
Vargas was first arrested by authorities in Colombia in 2014 and convicted of aggravated homicide, aggravated theft and possession of a weapon in 2016, when he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. It wasn’t immediately clear how he ended up able to cross the US border with a decade still to go on his prison sentence in Colombia.
Afghan terror suspect
Mohammad Kharwin, 48, illegally entered the US near San Ysidro, Calif., in March of 2023 but was processed and freed.
It took almost a year for the FBI to notify ICE that Kharwin was a suspected member of the US-designated foreign terror group Hezb-e-Islami, or HIG. He was re-arested Feb. 28 in San Antonio, Texas, and after a paperwork mishap, briefly let go before he was finally taken in again April 11. He remains in federal custody.
