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No, Islamic State Militants Have Not Been Caught by U.S. Border Patrol

Getty Images/Aris Messinis

Since the U.S. began airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State, Republicans have frequently connected the terrorist group to border security in the U.S. In August, Texas Governor Rick Perry called it a “very real possibility” that fighters from the Islamic State had already crossed into the U.S.

On Tuesday night, Representative Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, took those comments even further. Appearing on "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," Hunter said, “At least ten ISIS fighters have been caught coming across the border in Texas.” When Van Susteren asked how he knew that, Hunter replied, “Because I’ve asked the border patrol, Greta.”

I asked the Department of Homeland Security if Hunter’s comments were true. They weren't.

“The suggestion that individuals who have ties to ISIL have been apprehended at the Southwest border is categorically false, and not supported by any credible intelligence or the facts on the ground,” said DHS spokesperson Marsha Catron. “DHS continues to have no credible intelligence to suggest terrorist organizations are actively plotting to cross the southwest border.”

UPDATE: Hunter isn't backing off his comments, claiming they came from a "high-level source" at DHS."The Congressman was conveying what he knows—and what he was told," Hunter's spokesperson told The Huffington Post. "And as for DHS’ statement, it makes sense that the left hand of DHS doesn’t know what the right hand is doing—it’s been that way for a long time and we don’t expect that to change. No surprise there."