In a scathing revelation before Congress, former San Diego Sector Border Patrol Chief Aaron Heitke accused the Biden-Harris administration of covering up a sharp rise in encounters with suspected terrorists at the U.S.-Mexico border.

During a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing titled "A Country Without Borders: How Biden-Harris' Open-Borders Policies Have Undermined Our Safety and Security," Heitke said he was muzzled from releasing critical information on the number of Special Interest Aliens (SIAs) — individuals with known or suspected ties to terrorism — apprehended in California.

"I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests," Heitke testified. "The administration was trying to convince the public there was no threat at the border."

According to Heitke, arrests of individuals with terror ties skyrocketed under President Joe Biden's watch. The former Border Patrol chief revealed that before 2021, his sector had apprehended between 10 to 15 SIAs annually. By 2022, that number had shot up to over 100, with even more recorded in 2023.

"Once word was out that the border was far easier to cross, San Diego went to over 100 SIAs in 2022, well over that in 2023, and even more than that registered this year. These are only the ones we caught," Heitke warned, ABC3340 reports.

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