"10 Million Illegal Immigrants" and "360 on Terrorist Watch List": Two Immigration Claims Examined

Immigration / Homeland Security Source: Weekly Newsletter MISLEADING

Why This Matters for NY-23

These statistics appeared in Langworthy’s March 8 newsletter as the factual predicate for his argument that Democrats are endangering Americans by not funding DHS. The accuracy of the underlying figures affects whether the argument stands. Both figures draw on real government data — but present it in ways that create a false picture of what actually happened.

Statement

Source: Weekly Newsletter, March 8, 2026

“At the same time, our nation is grappling with the aftermath of up to 10 million illegal immigrants who flooded into our country from across the world during the Biden Administration, including more than 360 individuals who were on the terrorist watch list—and those are the ones we know about.”

Claim 1: “Up to 10 million illegal immigrants who flooded into our country”

Rating: MISLEADING — based on real encounter data, but frames events (not unique people who entered) as settled admissions

Where the Number Comes From

The figure traces directly to CBP’s official Nationwide Encounters statistics. The House Homeland Security Committee’s October 2024 factsheet — drawing from CBP data — reported 10.8 million total encounters since FY2021:

Fiscal YearTotal Nationwide Encounters
FY2021~1.96 million
FY2022~2.77 million
FY2023~3.20 million
FY2024~2.90 million
FY2021–FY2024 total~10.8 million

The 10 million figure is real. The problem is what it represents.

What “Encounters” Actually Means

An “encounter” is a CBP interaction — a logged event, not a unique individual, and not a successful entry. Every apprehension is an encounter regardless of what happened next. This matters for two reasons:

1. Repeat crossers inflate the count. CBP’s own data shows roughly one in three apprehensions involved someone on at least their second crossing attempt. A migrant who is expelled and re-apprehended five times appears five times in the statistics. The actual number of distinct people was substantially smaller than 10.8 million.

2. Most people encountered were not admitted. The Biden administration conducted nearly 4.4 million total repatriations (expulsions + removals + voluntary returns) — more than any single presidential term since George W. Bush. Across the full Biden-era encounter database:

OutcomeApproximate Count
Released into U.S. to await proceedings~2.5 million
Removed, expelled, or detained at initial processing~2.8 million
Title 42 expulsions alone (entire Biden term)~3 million

In Biden’s first year, 70.7% of encounters resulted in expulsion, deportation, or detention. “Flooded into our country” implies all 10 million entered and remained. The actual number released into the U.S. during Biden’s term was approximately 2.5 million — not 10 million. And that 2.5 million figure itself is not the final population: many subsequently received removal orders, departed voluntarily, or were later deported.

PolitiFact rated the parallel claim — “over 10 million people have come across the border” — as FALSE. FactCheck.org labeled it a misrepresentation of federal data. Newsweek fact-checked the similar “20 million illegal immigrants entered under Biden” figure and found it likewise did not hold up.

Claim 2: “More than 360 individuals who were on the terrorist watch list — and those are the ones we know about”

Rating: MISLEADING — the number understates full CBP data; nearly all were stopped, not admitted; the TSDB includes far more than active terrorists

Where “360” Comes From

CBP publishes TSDB (Terrorism Screening Database) encounter figures. The figure “360” appears to correspond to a narrow count: southwest border, between ports of entry only, for some subset of FY2021–FY2024. Official data for that specific category:

FYSW Border Between Ports (Border Patrol)
FY2021~15
FY2022~98
FY2023~169
FY2024~52 (SW only, through partial year)
Approximate total~334–385

The House Homeland Security Committee’s own October 2024 factsheet cited “more than 390 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist” at the southwest and northern borders between ports of entry combined. When all borders and all entry modes are included (ports of entry + between ports, north + south, all CBP components), the nationwide total for the Biden term reaches approximately 1,700+.

Langworthy’s “360” is therefore on the low end of available statistics — not the high end.

The Critical Omission: Were They Admitted?

This is where the framing does the most misleading work. The “and those are the ones we know about” line implies these individuals entered and remain in the U.S. That is not what the data shows.

At ports of entry: CBP states that noncitizens matching terrorism records at land ports of entry “are most commonly found inadmissible to our country and immediately repatriated or removed.” They are not admitted.

Between ports of entry: Those caught after entering without inspection “are most commonly detained and removed or turned over to another government agency for subsequent detention and law enforcement action.”

How many were actually released? The House Judiciary Committee reported at minimum 99 watchlist-matched individuals were released into the U.S. between 2021 and 2023 (with 34 more in DHS custody). DHS disputed the specifics. PolitiFact and Al Jazeera (February 2025) both reported that the actual number released remains unclear and disputed by the parties. A DHS OIG report confirmed at least one known case of a CBP release of a watchlist-matched migrant.

Counterterrorism experts told PolitiFact there is “no credible reporting that any kind of catch-and-release programme involving known or suspected terrorists exists,” and that any Known or Suspected Terrorist (KST) apprehended would be prosecuted or removed.

What the TSDB Actually Includes

The Terrorism Screening Database has approximately 2 million entries and includes not only confirmed terrorists but also “known affiliates” — family members and associates of watchlisted individuals who may pose little or no active threat. Migration Policy Institute and PolitiFact both note this makes raw TSDB encounter numbers “a bad gauge of the threat of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.”

The “Ones We Know About” Framing

This phrase implies a large unknown population of terrorists who successfully evaded detection. While “gotaways” (migrants who cross undetected) are real and documented, there is no public data establishing that any significant number of TSDB-matched individuals are among gotaways. The implication is purely speculative.

Summary

ClaimRatingKey Issue
“Up to 10 million illegal immigrants who flooded into our country”MISLEADING10.8M is real encounter data, not unique admissions; ~2.5M released vs. ~2.8M removed; PolitiFact rated parallel claim FALSE
“360 on terrorist watch list — those are the ones we know about”MISLEADING“360” is the narrow SW-border-only count; broader data shows ~1,700+; nearly all were stopped, not admitted; TSDB includes non-threatening associates

Sources

Note: This entry documents publicly available information from CBP statistics, government reports, and independent fact-checking organizations. Readers may draw their own conclusions.

Last updated: March 14, 2026