Quick Hit: 

The Biden-Harris administration is transporting hundreds of migrants, including Special Interest Aliens (SIA), from California to Texas for processing and release, sparking concerns over national security risks.

Key Details:

• 153 migrants, mostly SIAs, were flown from San Diego to Laredo, Texas, for processing.
• SIAs included nationals from countries with travel warnings due to terrorism concerns, such as Turkey, China, and Jordan.
• Most migrants are expected to be released to non-government shelters in Texas.

Diving Deeper:

Breitbart News reported that the Biden-Harris administration recently sent flights carrying 153 migrants, mostly Special Interest Aliens (SIA), from San Diego, California, to Laredo, Texas, where they will be processed and released into non-governmental charity shelters across the state. These SIAs, whose countries of origin include Turkey, China, Jordan, and others with travel warnings, are raising concerns about national security risks at the southern border.

The migrants, transported via Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aircraft, are expected to be housed at shelters run by organizations like Catholic Charities in Laredo before being transferred to San Antonio’s FEMA-backed Migrant Resource Center. From there, staff members will help arrange commercial flights to other parts of the U.S. 

Flight manifests revealed that among the 90 SIAs processed last week in Laredo were 51 individuals from Turkey, 20 from China, and several others from countries such as Jordan, Egypt, and Bangladesh. Many of these migrants hail from nations deemed high-risk by the U.S. State Department due to terrorism or other security threats.

While the term "Special Interest Alien" does not automatically designate a person as a terrorist, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uses the term to flag individuals whose travel patterns suggest a potential nexus to terrorist activities. Despite these concerns, the source noted that unless further intelligence emerges indicating a direct threat, most of these individuals are likely to be released soon.

The surge of SIAs at the Texas border is not a new phenomenon. Recent data shows a significant increase in the number of SIAs crossing into the U.S., with over 61,000 encountered in fiscal year 2023, a 140% jump from the prior year. The inability of the administration to return migrants to their home countries due to strained diplomatic relations or resource limitations further complicates the situation.