Biden admin released 729 Iranian nationals amid terror concerns

Over 1,500 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. at the southern border were arrested during the Biden administration, and nearly 50% of them were released back into the country, according to a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source.

More specifically, Border Patrol agents arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024. Of the 1,504 individuals who were arrested, 729 were released into the U.S.

The number of Iranian nationals arrested at the southern border increased year-to-year, with 48 being arrested in FY21; 197 in FY22; 462 in FY23 and 797 in FY24.

Likewise, the number of Iranian nationals released also increased, with 12 in FY21; 40 in FY22; 229 in FY23; and 448 in FY24.

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It is unclear how many of the Iranians released into the U.S. were on the terrorism watchlist, as the Biden administration repeatedly denied Fox News’ Freedom of Information Act requests and appeals for the data. The Biden administration cited “privacy concerns” of the people on the list, as well as “minimal public interest” for denying the requests.

Still, there were over 2 million known gotaways at the border during the Biden administration, and because they were never caught, there is no way of knowing where the individuals were from.

All Iranians are considered “special interest aliens” because of national security concerns. Therefore, they are supposed to receive enhanced vetting from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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The news comes as U.S. officials sound the alarm regarding the threat of terror-backed sleeper cells in the country just hours after President Donald Trump ordered the successful strikes on key nuclear facilities within Iran.

Hours after Trump addressed the nation about the military strikes, the DHS issued a memo sounding the alarm to a “heightened threat environment” in the U.S.

While the bulletin did not cite any specific threats, it came as Iranian officials vowed retaliation against the U.S.

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The bulletin points to law enforcement within the U.S. disrupting “multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots” since 2020, while noting the Iranian government’s unsuccessful attempts to target critics of its regime. 

The advisory comes after Trump ordered military strikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities in what officials are calling “Operation Midnight Hammer,” prompting law enforcement to be on high alert regarding the threat of foreign adversary operatives conducting an attack on U.S. soil, with thousands of Iranian nationals previously crossing over the border. 

“Because of the open borders, we are at a serious catch-up phase,” Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital. “We don’t know where those thousand Iranians are and who knows how many others got across the border. We missed an opportunity when they caught and released those thousand. We missed the opportunity to gather intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We just simply let them go, which is gross negligence on the part of the Biden administration.”

The possibility of foreign cells carrying out a domestic terror plot was pushed into the national spotlight last year after federal prosecutors announced a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two U.S.-nationals were arrested for allegedly plotting to murder then-President-elect Trump and a U.S. citizen critical of the Iranian regime. 

Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita, Danielle Wallace and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.