A group of eight Tajikistani migrants linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) have been arrested by federal agents in the United States after they crossed the southern border.
The eight migrant men were arrested in Los Angeles, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New York City, New York, this week. NBC News reports that the migrants all had arrived at the United States-Mexico border before gaining entry to the nation’s interior.
“All eight men crossed through the southern border into the U.S., and their criminal backgrounds checks came back clean when they crossed, say two officials familiar with the matter,” NBC News reports, stating that at least two of the migrants crossed the border in the spring of 2023.
As Breitbart News reported, one of the migrants had been released into the U.S. interior by Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS). NBC News seems to corroborate that account, noting that one of the migrants secured parole for release into the U.S. interior via the CBP One migrant mobile app.
After the migrants arrived at the border, they were screened by DHS officials who did not find any links to ISIS or terrorism at the time, CNN reports. The migrants’ ties to ISIS came to light after they had gained entry to the U.S. interior, which prompted an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
CNN reports:
The group had been on the radar of U.S. officials for well over a month, but senior U.S. officials recently decided to have the eight expelled from the country under ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations authority rather than risking having the FBI surveil them longer and wait for the potential manifestation of a possible plot, the source told CNN. [Emphasis added]
The migrants are now being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending deportation from the United States and could face terrorism charges.
Since the start of Fiscal Year 2021, almost 400 migrants who appear on the Terrorist Watch List have been apprehended along the border attempting to enter the United States.
WATCH — NO CONTROL OVER BORDER: Border Patrol Chief Disagrees with Biden’s DHS Chief Mayorkas
C-SPANJohn Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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