Former President Donald Trump, during his interview with Tucker Carlson that aired at the same time as the first GOP primary debate, highlighted his most important agenda item if elected to a second term: securing the country’s southern border.
Trump’s primary focus is underscored by the surge in illegal migrant encounters following President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration. Federal data reveals that U.S. Border Patrol recorded over 2.2 million illegal migrant encounters in fiscal year 2022, a notable rise from approximately 1.6 million in 2021.
Trump stated, “Number one is the border and taking hundreds of thousands of criminals that have been allowed into our country and getting them out and bringing them back to their country. Guatemala, by the way, not only the four countries we think of as neighbors, all over the world.”
The surge isn’t limited to unauthorized migrants. There’s also been a marked increase in the apprehension of individuals on the terrorist watchlist. Federal records note 146 such encounters at the southern border in fiscal year 2023, a significant jump from 98 in 2022 and 15 in 2021.
Trump expressed his concerns, saying, “Last month, we had 149 countries represented, Tucker, from places that many people never even heard of coming into our country, and they’re coming in from mental institutions and they’re coming in from prisons, they’re emptying out their prisons all over South America. They’re emptying out their mental institutions. Terrorists are pouring into our country, we have no idea.”
Reflecting on his prior term, Trump emphasized his efforts, asserting, “I had the strongest border in the history of our country, and I built almost 500 miles of wall.”
