8 Suspected ISIS Terrorists Arrested In The US After Crossing Southern Border And Initially Released Into The US
The sting operation, which arrested 8 Tajikistan nationals, was carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
US/MEXICO - In a sting operation that spanned multiple states, 8 suspected terrorists with connections to ISIS-K were arrested in Philadelphia, New York City, and Los Angeles after crossing over the southern border and being initially fully vetted and released into the United States.
The sting operation, which arrested 8 Tajikistan nationals, was carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to federal authorities.
The Tajikistan nationals were initially vetted, during which no derogatory information or national security concerns were found by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and were released into the United States.
After being released into the U.S., however, concerns by U.S. authorities grew that they were found to have connections with ISIS-K, with one of the suspects being wiretapped and found to be talking about bombs.
The suspect found to be talking about bombs via the wiretap was one who had been released after having been arrested by authorities and released into the United States. The suspect had a court date set for next year before it was found he had connections to the ISIS-K terrorist group.
A DHS, FBI joint statement said, "Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces.
The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment.
The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security."