White House press secretary Sarah Sanders admitted Wednesday that she misstated statistics about border security in recent days.
Over the weekend, Sanders was fact-checked by “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace about her claim that about 4,000 known or suspected terrorists have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I should have said 4,000 at all points of entry, not just at the southern border,” Sanders said on “Fox and Friends.”
After the interview with Wallace went viral and critics expressed concern that the misleading claim could have been part of an effort to gin up support for border wall funding, the Homeland Security Department put out a “MYTH/FACT” press release. It explains 3,755 known or suspected terrorists were stopped from entering the U.S. in fiscal 2017 and that the majority made the attempt by air.
Meanwhile, a senior administration official told CNN that government data shows only 12 known or suspected terrorists were caught at the southern border between October 2017 and October 2018.
Sanders said the “bottom line” is that no matter how many illegal immigrants are on a terrorist watchlist, even one presents a danger.
