Border Patrol agents have apprehended 307 Iranian nationals attempting to enter the country illegally since President Donald Trump took office last year, according to information obtained by The Center Square from a federal agent familiar with the data.
The figure reflects arrests made between ports of entry nationwide and does not include encounters handled by Customs and Border Protection at official crossings.
The development comes amid heightened national security concerns connected to Iran and its global activities, including reports that hundreds of members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been identified in Canada.
Under current policy, none of the 307 Iranian nationals apprehended have been released into the United States. Instead, all have been transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detention, prosecution, or removal, according to the report.
That marks a shift from prior years. Between 2021 and 2024, under the Biden administration, about 1,500 Iranian nationals were apprehended by the Border Patrol, with 729 released into the U.S., according to previous reporting cited by The Center Square.
Iranian nationals are categorized by the Department of Homeland Security as "special-interest aliens," or SIAs — individuals identified as potentially having connections to terrorism or posing a national security risk.
DHS has historically not released comprehensive public data on SIA apprehensions.
At least 73,000 SIAs were encountered at the southern border during the previous administration, according to The Center Square.
Trump administration officials have argued that stricter enforcement measures are needed, particularly given the challenges associated with deporting individuals from countries such as Iran, which does not maintain repatriation agreements with the U.S.
As a result, Iranian nationals who enter the country illegally are often detained for extended periods or transferred to third countries that have agreements with the U.S. to accept migrants awaiting final disposition.
According to Third Country Deportation Watch, at least 24 countries have entered into such arrangements.
The administration is also seeking to locate and apprehend some 18,000 known or suspected terrorists it says were released into the U.S. in recent years, including those from Iran and other high-risk regions.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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