DHS Identifies Over 400 Migrants Linked to ISIS-Affiliated Smuggling Network

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified more than 400 immigrants as "subjects of concern" due to their association with an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network. According to three U.S. officials, these individuals were brought to the United States from Central Asia and other regions by this network. While over 150 of them have been arrested, the whereabouts of over 50 remain unknown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is actively seeking to arrest these individuals on immigration charges as they are located.

 

A senior Biden administration official emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, "In this case, it was the information that suggested a potential tie to ISIS because of some of the individuals involved in [smuggling migrants to the border] that led us to want to take extra care, and out of an abundance of caution make sure that we exercised our authority in the most expansive and appropriate way to mitigate risk because of this potential connection being made."

 

Despite these concerns, the official noted that since ICE began arresting migrants linked to the ISIS-affiliated smuggling network, no information has emerged suggesting that these individuals pose a direct threat to the U.S. homeland. Nonetheless, the DHS has been scrutinizing migrants from countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Russia, where ISIS-K is known to be active.

 

The majority of these 400-plus migrants crossed the southern border and were initially released into the U.S. by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) because they were not on the government's terrorism watchlist at the time of entry. However, recent terrorist attacks in Russia have heightened concerns about ISIS and its offshoot, ISIS-K.

 

"The fact that the whereabouts were unknown is clearly alarming," said Christopher O’Leary, former FBI counterterrorism section chief and current employee at The Soufan Group, a security consulting firm. He explained that ICE is likely aiming to detain these individuals on immigration charges to mitigate any potential national security threats, even if there is no concrete evidence of them plotting an attack. "I believe the [U.S.] is scrambling to locate these individuals, and using the immigration charges is not uncommon," O’Leary said. "They are in violation of that law. And if you need to take somebody off the street, that’s a good approach to do it."

 

Two officials reassured that federal law enforcement agencies are not in a state of panic but are prioritizing these individuals for arrest out of an abundance of caution. Some of the 150 arrested migrants have already been deported, while others are known to be in various states and may soon face arrest. Some may have voluntarily left the U.S. since their arrival. To date, none of those detained or deported have been charged with terrorism-related offenses but have been charged with immigration violations.

 

Earlier this month, ICE arrested eight Tajik men in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles due to suspected ISIS affiliations. NBC News reported a similar case involving an Uzbek man in Baltimore, who was flagged by his home country for ISIS ties and was arrested in April after living in the U.S. for over two years without any initial indicators of a terrorism link.

 

Historically, the threat of terrorism from migrants crossing U.S. borders has been low. Since October, the number of migrants identified on the terrorism watchlist has constituted about .014% of all CBP encounters, or slightly less than one in every 7,000 migrants vetted. However, some current and former U.S. officials have raised concerns about the vetting process, especially with the increasing number of immigrants from countries like Venezuela, China, and various Eastern Hemisphere nations that do not routinely share law enforcement and criminal data with the U.S.

 

A notable case involved an Afghan named Mohammad Kharwin, whose name was on the U.S. terrorist watchlist but was released by CBP due to insufficient information at the time of his entry. He lived in the U.S. for nearly a year before being arrested in San Antonio in February. He was released on bond after a court hearing but was re-arrested hours after NBC News published a story about his case.

 

The DHS Office of Inspector General recently highlighted issues with vetting at the U.S. southern border, stating, "The Department of Homeland Security’s technology, procedures, and coordination were not fully effective to screen and vet non-citizens applying for admission into the United States." In response, the Republican-led House Homeland Security Committee has requested the unredacted version of the Inspector General's report to evaluate DHS's handling of this critical national security matter.

 

Credit: NBC News 2024-06-27

 

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[Tug]

To bad trump killed the border legislation we would have had more resources to deal with thease individuals 

[NORDO]

Joe and da HO need to go.

[koolkarl]

They should put Canada on their watch list too.  Muslims, such a lovable group.

[Srikcir]

24 minutes ago, koolkarl said:

Muslims, such a lovable group

As a group "yes."

More than 24.1% of the world's population is Muslim, with an estimated total of approximately 1.9 billion.

 

 

[riclag]

39 minutes ago, NORDO said:

Joe and da HO need to go.

It only took 19 radical  jihadist last time.

The world has seen radical useful idiot biden supporters running mini caliphate encampments in my country, blocking streets,bridges,airport access . 
 

With Chants of death to America , god only knows what brew ,evil has  concocted!

 

methinks

[riclag]

28 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

As a group "yes."

More than 24.1% of the world's population is Muslim, with an estimated total of approximately 1.9 billion.

 

 

Confused!

 

Aljazzer has no credibility , they are funded by Qatar govt. and mediafactchecker says they are leftists! Very bias  video.

Nice Try, AJ , its a election season , some have seen through AJ’s

propaganda .

 

https://www.influencewatch.org/organization/al-jazeera/

[impulse]

11 hours ago, Tug said:

To bad trump killed the border legislation we would have had more resources to deal with thease individuals 

If you believe that, you obviously didn't read all the pages.  You missed the part about doing diddly squat until the numbers go to 5000 a day. Then, they'd think about shutting it down.  That's 1.8 million a year, normalized and codified.

 

You also missed the part about HR.2 which passed the Repub controlled House last year, but the Dem controlled senate won't even take it up.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4390204-5-things-to-know-about-border-bill-hr2-gop-shutdown-threats/