As illegal border crossings continue to shatter records, Border Patrol agents are struggling to thoroughly screen the thousands of migrants apprehended each day, raising concerns about the potential entry of criminals and terrorists into the United States.

According to internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained by the New York Post, Border Patrol currently has more than 10,000 migrants in custody nationwide.

Agents say they have received orders to “process faster” to keep up with the influx, which has ranged from 180,000 to 300,000 encounters per month since July 2023.

“Full checks in 72 hours is next to impossible,” one agent told the Post. “On top of that, with the numbers we get, it’s highly probable that people are going to slip through the cracks.”

The challenges are compounded by a lack of cooperation and poor record-keeping in many of the migrants’ home countries, making it difficult to identify those with criminal histories or terror ties.

In recent months, Border Patrol has released a convicted murderer from Colombia, a suspected member of an Afghan terror group, and a Colombian national on the terror watchlist, only to re-arrest them later when their backgrounds were discovered.

As the border crisis shows no signs of abating, agents warn that more dangerous individuals may enter the country undetected unless the screening process is improved and the flow of illegal crossings is curbed.