Border Surge Includes Record-High Number of Suspected Terrorists, Ex-Border Patrol Chief Says

Ex-Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott said more known or suspected terrorists had crossed the southern border amid the migration crisis.

Scott noted that he firmly believes that what is happening at the border is a "national security crisis," and that immigration is just a subcomponent of it, Daily Mail reported.

Scott said that national security is more at risk than the humanitarian crisis, as he warned agents in his retirement video message obtained by Washington Examiner.

He noted that immigration is just a cover for huge amounts of smuggling across the southwest border. He added that the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) is at a level they have never seen before, and "that's a real threat." TSDB refers to known or suspected terrorists identified in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) system.

Border Patrol did not deny that the number of terrorist encounters has increased. However, they assured that there are systems in place to ensure that these individuals are stopped from crossing the border in the first place.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier told members of Congress that law enforcement had stopped four people on the terror watchlist from Serbia and Yemen in January.

Terrorists Trying to Cross the U.S.-Mexico Border

In March, House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko said that people caught by agents "in the last few days" at Border Patrol's El Paso sector have been under the terror watchlist. Katko noted that persons on the watchlist for terrorism "are now starting to exploit the southern border."

Thousands of people are denied entry to the U.S. at airports each year as a result of being on the terror list. However, it is unusual for people to be encountered trying to get into the U.S. between land border crossings.

The CBP would not share information about terrorism-affiliated encounters. The agency noted that its personnel relies on multiple screening levels to prevent individuals who are public safety or national security threats.

The men who were arrested from Yemen were ages 33 and 26. They were on the no-fly list that prevents some people from boarding airplanes, NBC News reported.

Both men were detained, with one in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, while the other was in federal custody pending deportation.

Ex-Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott Ousted

The Washington Examiner was first to report that the Biden administration was forcing Rodney Scott out of office in June to install its own chief of the agency.

According to USA Today, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said that Scott had been asked to resign, retire, or "move off his position." The official cited no specific reason why Scott was being forced out of the agency.

The former Border Patrol chief earlier clashed with Democrats in Washington and Biden administration officials over the best approach to prevent illegal immigration and other border-related matters.

Scott has also publicly supported former President Donald Trump and his restrictive immigration policies. The Biden administration has already nominated Tucson police chief Chris Magnus as its own head of CBP.

Magnus is known as a supporter of the kinds of immigration policies that the Biden administration is pushing. Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz is expected to step into Scott's role on an acting basis while Magnus goes through the Senate confirmation process.

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: U.S. Border Patrol Chief Ousted From Position by Biden Administration - From CBS 8 San Diego