Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
Two containers, one with a U.S. flag and another with Canada's flag.

Just the Facts: U.S.–Canada Tariff War Escalates As Trump Raises Stakes

Close up of U.S. Army and American flag patches on a uniform

Veterans Day Betrayal: ICE Detains U.S. Military Veterans Under Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

After ICE Raid, Wisconsin’s Dairy Labor Crisis Deepens

After ICE Raid, Wisconsin’s Dairy Labor Crisis Deepens

Paramount-WBD Deal: Antitrust, Consumers, and the Future of Media

Paramount-WBD Deal: Antitrust, Consumers, and the Future of Media

People voting at booths.

Who Will Be the First American Candidate To Harness AI

Has President Joe Biden ‘let in’ nearly 1,700 people with links to terrorism?

Sen. Ron Johnson in front of a chart

Sen. Ron Johnson claims President Biden has allowed 1,700 terrorists to enter the country. That total refers to encounters (people who were stopped)

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch
By Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin WatchJun 20, 2024
Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch
See More Writings by author

This fact brief was originally published by Wisconsin Watch. Read the original here. Fact briefs are published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network, and republished by The Fulcrum. Visit Gigafact to learn more.

Has President Joe Biden ‘let in’ nearly 1,700 people with links to terrorism?

No.

Border agents have encountered individuals on the federal terrorist watchlist nearly 1,700 times since President Joe Biden took office — that means those people were stopped while trying to enter the U.S.

The latest figures show 1,664 encounters from fiscal 2021, starting Oct. 30, 2020, through May 15, 2024. That includes nearly three months before Biden was inaugurated.

The watchlist contains known or suspected terrorists and individuals “who represent a potential threat.”

About 78 percent of the encounters were at legal ports, where entry into the U.S. can be denied. The other 367 encounters occurred between legal ports, nearly all at the Southwest border. Those individuals may be detained and removed.

The 1,700 claim was made June 4 by Fox Business TV host Elizabeth MacDonald while interviewing U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

A Fox spokesperson provided no evidence that any of the encounters resulted in entries.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Associated Press Posts misrepresent border encounters with people on terror watchlist

Google Docs Terrorist Screening Data Set Encounters as of June 5, 2024

US Customs and Border Protection CBP Enforcement Statistics

Fox Business Sen. Ron Johnson: Biden's border executive action 'proves point' he's had authority to keep the border closed

Latest news

Trump Administration Faces Record 530 Lawsuits in 2025 — Far Exceeding Biden, Obama, and Bush
Rule of Law

Trump Administration Faces Record 530 Lawsuits in 2025 — Far Exceeding Biden, Obama, and Bush

A thick cloud of exhaust rises up from a chimney in the blue sky
Environment

The Wind Doesn’t Know State Lines, Washington Doesn’t Seem To Care

Why the Tri-Merge System is Vital for Fair Homeownership
Economy

Why the Tri-Merge System is Vital for Fair Homeownership

Read More

Teen Vogue Changed How a Generation Saw Politics and Inclusion. That Era Could Be Over.

Teen Vogue editors Kaitlyn McNab, left, and Aiyana Ishmael, right. Both were laid off as Condé Nast announced that Teen Vogue would be absorbed into the Vogue brand.

J. Countess, Phillip Faraone; Getty Images

Teen Vogue Changed How a Generation Saw Politics and Inclusion. That Era Could Be Over.

For the last decade, Teen Vogue has been an unexpected source of some of the most searing progressive political analysis in American media. It’s a pivot the publication began in April 2016 when Elaine Welteroth took over as leader. She became the publication’s second editor in chief, and the second Black person ever to hold that title under the publishing giant Condé Nast.

Previously focused mostly on teen style trends and celebrity red carpet looks, the magazine’s website soon included headlines like “Trauma From Slavery Can Actually Be Passed Down Through Your Genes” and “Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America.” Readers took notice: Between January 2016 and January 2017, web traffic reportedly grew from 2.9 million U.S. visitors to 7.9 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robot building Ai sign.

As AI reshapes jobs and politics, America faces a choice: resist automation or embrace innovation. The path to prosperity lies in AI literacy and adaptability.

Getty Images, Andriy Onufriyenko

You Can’t Save the American Dream by Freezing It in Time

“They gave your job to AI. They picked profit over people. That’s not going to happen when I’m in office. We’re going to tax companies that automate away your livelihood. We’re going to halt excessive use of AI. We’re going to make sure the American Dream isn’t outsourced to AI labs. Anyone who isn’t with us, anyone who is telling you that AI is the future, is ignoring the here and now — they’re making a choice to trade your livelihood for the so-called future. That’s a trade I’ll never make. There’s no negotiating away the value of a good job and strong communities.”

Persuasive, right? It’s some version of the stump speech we’re likely to hear in the lead up to the midterm elections that are just around the corner--in fact, they’re less than a year away. It’s a message that will resonate with Americans who have bounced from one economic crisis to the next — wondering when, if ever, they’ll be able to earn a good wage, pay their rent, and buy groceries without counting pennies as they walk down each aisle.

Keep ReadingShow less
Community is Keeping this Young News Outlet Alive

Left to right: Abigail Higgins, Christina Sturdivant Sani, Maddie Poore, George Kevin Jordan, Martin Austermuhle

Photo Credit: Rodney Choice

Community is Keeping this Young News Outlet Alive

In 2018, WAMU 88.5 – Washington, D.C.’s NPR member station – saved beloved local publication DCist from certain death. WAMU’s funding and support kept DCist alive and enabled it to continue serving the community with the thoughtful journalism readers had come to love. Six years later, however, WAMU announced it would shut down DCist in favor of prioritizing audio-first content. DCist then joined the thousands of newspapers and news sites that have disappeared across the United States in the last 20 years.

Frustrated by decisions to axe newsrooms being made by suits in high offices, six former workers of DCist and WAMU decided to build their own, employee-run newsroom — and thus, The 51st was born.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025