An alleged member of a “virulently anti-Western” terrorist group was released by federal authorities after he was arrested while attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a report, and was subsequently arrested when he appeared before an immigration judge. He was reportedly released again.
According to NBC News, Customs and Border Protection agents arrested Mohammad, who illegally entered the United States near San Ysidro, California, in March 2023, despite the Afghan national being suspected of being on the FBI’s terrorist watch list. Mr. Kerwin, 48, was arrested and released.
Mr. Kerwin was sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Alternative to Detention” program, which typically provides migrants with GPS tracking or a smartphone app to track their whereabouts, after CBP officials were unable to conclusively determine that he was on a terrorist watch list. He was released under a process that required him to submit a report on the case.
Nearly a year later, the FBI notified ICE that Kerwin was a suspected member of the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization Hizb-e-Islam (HIG).
HIG, which operates in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been described by the National Counterterrorism Center as a “virulently anti-Western insurgent group” responsible for the deaths of several U.S. soldiers and U.S. contractors.
ICE agents arrested Kerwin on February 28 in San Antonio, Texas. According to the outletHowever, his time in custody was short-lived.
ICE prosecutors said they did not notify the Texas immigration judge overseeing Kerwin’s detention process about Kerwin’s alleged ties to HIG because the information linking him to terrorist organizations was classified. officials told NBC News.
As a result, rather than ordering Kerwin to be deported or detained, the judge released the alleged terrorist group member on March 30 after posting $12,000 bail.
The judge placed no restrictions on Mr. Kerwin’s movement within the United States.
He must appear in court again for a hearing in 2025.
ICE has not appealed this ruling.
The Post has reached out to ICE and CBP for comment.
Since 2017, the Border Patrol said it has encountered 370 migrants on terrorist watchlists crossing illegally between ports of entry. CBP statistics.
The number has skyrocketed under President Biden, with 172 immigrants suspected of having ties to terrorism in 2023 and 70 this year.
Last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray told senators he was “very concerned” about human-smuggling networks linked to terrorist organizations attempting to use the southern border to enter the United States.
During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Wray said terrorists are among the 1.8 million “fugitives” — people who entered the United States illegally without being apprehended by Border Patrol agents — under the Biden administration. suggested that the possibility was clear.
“The national security implications of border issues are often better reflected in some ways by what we don’t know about the people who sneak in, submit false documents, or otherwise get in. I think there is.’ We didn’t have enough information to connect the dots about the time they arrived,” he said.
