Just 100 days into President Donald Trump’s second term, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) has flagged nearly 1,200 suspected terrorists living illegally within the United States, marking a sweeping escalation in the administration’s efforts to confront transnational threats head-on.
According to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, this surge in identification follows Trump’s high-profile designation of Mexican drug cartels and violent international gangs—such as MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), Gabbard revealed that, under her directive, federal intelligence teams have intensified their surveillance and cross-agency coordination efforts, resulting in actionable leads on over 750 individuals with ties to MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and the Sinaloa Cartel. These individuals were identified through the NCTC’s enhanced screening and threat-assessment protocols and referred to law enforcement agencies for further investigation and potential prosecution or removal.
“This is just the beginning,” Gabbard wrote, adding that her office is now aggressively tracking individuals who entered the U.S. through ISIS-linked human smuggling networks. She referenced a 2023 report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which disclosed that at least 400 illegal migrants, some later released into the U.S. under Biden-era policies, had ties to an ISIS-affiliated smuggling ring operating out of Central Asia and North Africa. Gabbard confirmed that “to date, more than 400” individuals with links to designated terrorist groups have been flagged by the intelligence community.
The total of nearly 1,200 individuals identified as suspected terrorists includes both cartel-linked actors and those tied to jihadist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda. This intelligence surge stems directly from Trump’s executive order signed on January 22, 2025, his second full day in office, declaring the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, El Salvador’s La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and related statutes.
Trump’s order cites the decades-long failure of previous administrations to stem the flow of drugs, weapons, and human trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing that cartels now act as de facto governments in large regions of northern Mexico. The designation allows the Treasury Department to freeze assets and the Justice Department to pursue material support charges against U.S. citizens or residents who aid these organizations. “These are not just gangs. These are terrorist networks that traffic in death,” Trump said in a televised press briefing.
On February 6, Secretary of State Marco Rubio formalized the designation of these groups as FTOs, effective February 20, giving federal authorities new powers to deport foreign nationals associated with these groups and prosecute Americans providing aid to them. Rubio emphasized that this designation was “long overdue” and framed it as an essential component of restoring sovereignty and safety to U.S. communities.
The move comes amid a backdrop of unprecedented border insecurity. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, between FY2021 and FY2024, the U.S. encountered 1,903 known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) at its borders. Alarmingly, 64% (1,216) of those were caught at the northern border with Canada, a rarely discussed hotspot for illegal crossings. Meanwhile, the southwest border recorded a record 687 KST encounters, underscoring the national security implications of border failures.
A February 2025 Gallup poll indicated that 61% of Americans believe the risk of terrorism has increased in recent years, with over half citing open-border policies under Biden as a significant contributing factor. FBI Director Christopher Wray also warned in late 2024 that international terror cells were increasingly exploiting migrant flows to “penetrate the homeland” undetected.
The group Tren de Aragua, which first emerged from Venezuela’s Tocorón prison system, has spread rapidly across Latin America and into the U.S. since 2019, with documented activity in at least 22 states by late 2024, according to a report from The Center Square. The gang is known for brutal tactics including torture, extortion, and sexual slavery, and has become a dominant force in transnational human trafficking and drug operations.
MS-13, meanwhile, has long been on the FBI’s radar. With roots in Los Angeles and ties to El Salvador, the gang has been responsible for hundreds of brutal murders across the U.S., often targeting teenagers in working-class communities. The Trump administration previously targeted MS-13 during his first term, initiating a crackdown that led to the deportation or incarceration of over 8,000 members.
The Sinaloa Cartel, formerly run by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, remains one of the most powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world. It is responsible for the bulk of fentanyl trafficking into the United States, a drug that contributed to nearly 75,000 overdose deaths in 2023 alone, according to CDC data. Trump has cited the cartel’s role in the fentanyl epidemic as a primary justification for its terrorist designation.
The NCTC’s ongoing effort is expected to yield more revelations in the coming weeks. Gabbard stressed the importance of interagency cooperation between DHS, DOJ, ICE, and CBP to carry out detentions and removals of foreign nationals linked to terrorism. She also confirmed that a “second wave” of designations is being considered, possibly including Hezbollah-linked operatives and affiliates of al-Shabaab.
As the situation develops, the Biden administration’s prior handling of terrorist-linked migrant cases is under renewed scrutiny. DHS officials have yet to clarify whether the 400 individuals tied to ISIS networks released in 2023 are part of the 1,200 now flagged by the NCTC or are in addition to them.
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