A South African immigrant terrorist suspect has been arrested in Brooklyn, New York, following a multi-government investigation. Texas Highway Patrol first took an unidentified man into custody in Texas in September 2024. He was arrested on suspicion of trespassing as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star and turned over to federal immigration authorities for deportation proceedings. Federal authorities released the immigrant to pursue an asylum claim, even though he was identified by state authorities as a subject of a warning in the FBI's terrorist screening database.
According to a Tuesday X post by Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, the unnamed South African immigrant was released into the United States based on information available at the time. The immigrant was identified by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers as Umar Farooq Ashraf, a South African national, Breitbart Texas reported. An alert from the FBI's terrorist testing database identified the man as a possible spouse or child of a known or suspected terrorist. Owens did not say why federal immigration authorities released Farooq Ashraf before fully examining the information contained in the FBI's TSDB.
A Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol spokesperson confirmed the arrest of Farooq Ashraf and said the migrant who crossed the border into Eagle Pass was arrested and transported to Del Rio, Texas. A spokesperson confirmed that the FBI TSDB alert was discovered shortly after Farooq Ashraf's arrest. A spokesperson said that immediately after his arrest, Farooq-Ashraf was turned over to federal immigration authorities in Del Rio, Texas.
The suspect, Farooq Ashraf, who was not named in the post, was captured in Brooklyn and is currently in federal custody awaiting release, according to Owens X Post. According to the FBI: Terrorist testing database (TSDB) contains information relating to specific individuals who are reasonably suspected of being involved in terrorism (or related activities). Once a person's name is listed in the TSDB, it begins a reporting process that alerts the FBI to an encounter by the Border Patrol. Owens did not say whether the South African immigrant was added to the list after illegally entering the United States along the Texas-Mexico border or whether authorities missed the alert.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, the number of immigrants apprehended at the southwest border of the United States who are registered in the terrorist screening database for attempting to enter the country illegally has skyrocketed. During the four fiscal years of the Trump administration (FY17-FY20), agents arrested only 14 immigrants listed in the national security database. Since 2021, 385 immigrants registered on the terrorist watch list have been encountered.
The South African immigrant featured in Chief Owens' post on X is not the first time an immigrant has been released into the United States after being placed on a terrorist watch list. in April 2022 investigation report An immigrant who was on the terrorist watch list issued by the DHS Office of Inspector General has been released by the Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona. The report cited a series of failures by multiple DHS agencies to conclusively determine that immigrants were on the terrorist watch list, resulting in their release from custody.
In this case, the immigrant and his immediate family were later encountered by TSA security screening officers at Palm Springs International Airport while attempting to board an aircraft. Despite the second encounter by DHS officials, the immigrant was eventually able to travel to Tampa, Florida, and was not rearrested by ICE for more than two weeks.
A request for additional information or comment has been submitted to Customs and Border Protection. No response was received by press time.
randy clark He is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Division Chief of Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol stations within the Del Rio, Texas area. Follow him at X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
