Terror related encounters surged at US Southern border in fiscal year 2026: Study

A new Center for Immigration Studies analysis released Monday showed that United States' Customs and Border Protection officials saw a surge in terrorism related encounters at Southwest ports of entry in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2026.

The CIS report noted that CBP recorded more than 11,250 terrorism-related encounters at Southwest ports through the first 11 months of FY 2026, compared with just over 3,700 in fiscal year 2025 and 103 in fiscal year 2021. The numbers mark a significant increase from the Biden administration and more than double the numbers from last fiscal year.

"The dramatic increase is a positive measure of border security,” Andrew Arthur, the center’s fellow in law and policy, said in a news release. “With illegal entries at historic lows, potential terrorists and other dangerous individuals are more likely to attempt entry through ports of entry, where CBP officers are positioned to identify and stop them.

“The most logical conclusions to draw from the massive rise in CBP’s border port of entry encounters of those with terrorism-related records is: One, with the border secure, bad actors are choosing to try their luck at the ports instead of entering illegally; and two, port officers are now better positioned to stop them,” he continued. “Maybe it’s time for the president to mention the key metric that underscores how important that ‘secure border’ is to the safety of the American people.”

The center also reported that although the encounters are high at the ports of entry, CBP only recorded 105 terror-related encounters along the southwest border between the ports of entry. 

The report comes as Border Patrol is on pace for roughly 98,000 Southwest border apprehensions in fiscal year 2026, down approximately 95% from the 2.045 million recorded in fiscal year 2023.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.