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Fox News reporter Bill Melugin revealed this afternoon that he filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to learn only the nationalities of the people on the terror watchlist.

But Customs and Border Patrol under DHS refused to disclose such general information citing privacy concerns.

Here’s what Melugin wrote:

6+ months ago, I filed a FOIA request w/ CBP seeking the nationalities of people on the terror watchlist arrested by Border Patrol in recent years. CBP now says they will not turn over that data, citing privacy & law enforcement sensitivity exemptions, telling me:

“The privacy interests of the individuals in the records you have requested outweigh any minimal public interest in disclosure of the information. Any private interest you may have in that information does not factor into the aforementioned balancing test.”

I did not ask for any names, IDs, addresses, anything that would breach privacy, nor did I ask for any law enforcement sensitive information. I simply requested *only* the nationalities of people arrested on the list, so the public can have an understanding of where in the world they are coming from.

CBP acknowledges in the opening paragraph of their response letter to me that all I asked for was nationalities of those arrested on the terror watchlist – but they then go on to cite exemptions that have nothing to do with what I requested, including medical files, phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, dates of birth etc, none of which I sought, and they even cite an exemption regarding: “…records which could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”

I disagree with CBP’s withholding of this data based on exemptions that have nothing to do with my FOIA request, and I will be appealing immediately.

Bill Melugin has earned a huge following and has a loud voice, and I guarantee that’s a big reason Mayorkas doesn’t want this information disclosed in an election year. The public’s right to know be damned, it’s all about protecting Biden.