Federal counterterrorism and border agencies say they have prevented thousands of known or suspected terrorists from entering the United States this year, marking one of the most significant interdiction efforts in recent history.
The National Counterterrorism Center reports that more than 6,500 known or suspected terrorists were stopped from entering the country over the past several months. At the same time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show that agents have apprehended over 3,000 known or suspected terrorists already inside the U.S. during fiscal year 2025 — the highest total ever recorded.
Until this year, the previous record was 1,903 KST apprehensions during the Biden administration. Roughly 64 percent of those arrests occurred along the northern border, where 1,216 individuals were stopped between fiscal years 2021 and 2024.
Officials say the increase stems from the Trump administration’s decision earlier this year to classify major cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. Groups such as MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and the Sinaloa Cartel were added to the federal Terrorist Screening Dataset, which tracks biographical and biometric information shared across federal law enforcement agencies.
By October, the NCTC had identified more than 35,000 known or suspected terrorists and added them to the TSDS database, according to NCTC Director Joe Kent. “This allowed law enforcement to prevent more than 6,525 [known or suspected terrorists] from entering our country that under the previous administration would have been allowed in,” he said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re doing this and more every day.”
Within the first 100 days of the second Trump administration, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the NCTC had also located nearly 1,200 alleged terrorists already inside the U.S., including hundreds linked to MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
According to CBP, the majority of known or suspected terrorist apprehensions this year occurred at southwest border ports of entry, where officers reported 2,782 arrests. Another 284 were made at northern ports, and 61 between ports of entry. Individuals identified as known or suspected terrorists are typically found inadmissible and repatriated or referred for federal detention and prosecution, the agency said.
Homeland Security officials credited the updated designations and coordination between CBP, the NCTC, and the State Department for the rise in interdictions.
