Owens said in an interview with the US broadcaster that in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in October 2023, the US conducted nearly one million migrant apprehensions along the border with Mexico.
"That number is a large number, but what's keeping me up at night is the 140,000 known got-aways," Owens said on Sunday, adding that this situation is "a national security threat."
The US authorities need to tighten immigration policies to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the US southern border, he noted.
House Republicans have been advocating for the Biden administration to impose meaningful border policy changes that will deter the record surge of migrants that have overrun the southern border over the last three years under President Joe Biden.
Republicans want Biden to use executive action to deal with the border crisis instead of trying to work something out in Congress, which is currently at an impasse on border policy due to partisan differences.