The reported arrests of three Palestinian migrants with terrorism ties at the southern border are the latest incidents of militants with terrorism ties and come after authorities instructed personnel to be on the lookout for militants with ties to Hamas.
The New York Post reported that three migrants with “possible terrorist ties” turned themselves in at the California border, and that one of them had “lewd photographs” stored on his phone, including an image of a masked man with an AK-47 rifle.
In addition to the Palestinians, one immigrant from Turkey is also suspected of having ties to terrorist organisations.
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Migrants line up at the southern border in San Diego on June 6, 2024. (Fox News)
It is unclear which terrorist organization the migrants allegedly belonged to, but the incident is being investigated by federal authorities, the media reported.
The arrests came months after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a memo in San Diego in October warning that “individuals inspired by or reacting to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas may attempt to bypass the Southwest border to travel to or from combat zones in the Middle East.”
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On February 23, 2024, migrants who crossed the Mexican border near Jacumba Hot Springs in San Diego arrive at a makeshift camp. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
“Ideologically motivated foreign fighters and mercenaries may seek to conceal their travel between the United States and Middle Eastern countries through Mexico.”
The report warns of possible indicators, including males of military age, possession of military equipment, traveling alone, undetermined plans to return home and links to the region.
At the time, CBP emphasized that the system “provides extensive situational awareness to frontline officers to remain vigilant in carrying out their homeland and border security missions.”
“A situational awareness briefing is not a threat assessment,” the official added.
Number captured Illegal immigration Under Biden, the number of people named on terrorism watch lists has increased significantly, from just a few before he took office to 98 in fiscal year 2022. That number has jumped to 169 in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data. There have been 93 encounters so far this fiscal year.
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The TSDS contains the following confidential information: The identity of the terroristOriginally it only included known or suspected terrorists, but now it includes additional individuals who pose a “potential threat to the United States, including known associates of individuals on the watch list.”
But the potential terrorist threat coming across the border is a constant concern given the sheer number of migrants crossing the southern border, which reached a record 2.4 million in fiscal year 2023. Alarm bells were sounded last month when the Department of Homeland Security identified more than 400 people who had been brought to the U.S. from countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia by ISIS-linked smuggling networks.
The Department of Homeland Security said a few of the remaining 50 fugitives may be on watch lists, but that there is no information to suggest the rest pose an imminent threat.
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Prior to that, eight Tajik nationals with ties to ISIS were arrested by federal authorities in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, all of whom had entered the country illegally through the southern border but had no reports of concern during the process.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned of possible terror attacks, saying coordinated attacks similar to those recently carried out in the United States in March by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) are increasingly likely. Russian Concert Hall.
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In March, he also warned of a “wide range of” threats at the border.
A protester wearing a mask waves a Hamas flag during a protest in Washington, DC, on July 24. (Lucas Tomlinson/Fox News Digital)
“From the FBI’s perspective, there are a number of very dangerous threats that come from the border, including drug trafficking. The FBI alone has seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people, and that’s just with fentanyl,” he said.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
