An illegal immigrant who was arrested while trying to sneak across the border admitted to being a member of Hezbollah and intending to “make a bomb.”
Basel Bassel Ebadi, 22, a Lebanese immigrant who was caught sneaking across the border near El Paso, Texas, last week told interrogators that his final destination was New York. ”, he reportedly stated. He arrived safely at his destination, the New York Post reported.
Further interviews with Ebadi revealed that he trained with Hezbollah for seven years and also served as an active member with weapons security duties for another four years, the report said. He reportedly told investigators that his training with the group focused on “jihad” and “killing non-Muslims.”
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A U.S. Border Patrol agent stands on a cliff near Sasabe, Arizona, searching for migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border wall. (Salwan Georges/Washington Post via Getty Images)
Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed terrorist organization that has launched attacks against Israel, including a recent attack on Israel in the wake of the October attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.
However, Ebadi apparently told investigators that he was interested in leaving because he “didn’t want to kill anyone,” but added: “Once you’re in, you can never leave.”
Nevertheless, Ebadi was placed in isolation and sent to the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) on suspicion of making “terrorist threats against personnel.”
Documents obtained by the New York Post showed he was subject to deportation from the United States, but it was unclear to which country he would be sent.
A cloned U.S. Border Patrol vehicle was seized by Mexican authorities south of the border after agents spotted suspicious activity nearby. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
Border officials confirm new large surge at southern border
There were 98 people on the terrorist watch list encountered by Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2022, and that number jumped to 172 in 2023, according to the report. In the first four months of fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol agents encountered 59 such individuals.
A battle continues between lawmakers in Washington over the border security situation, with House Republicans blaming the Biden administration and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the chaos. Meanwhile, the White House has pointed to failed attempts to support a bipartisan border bill that it claimed would help ease the crisis.
View of the border in El Paso, Texas (Kelly Laco/Fox News Digital)
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Meanwhile, the number of border encounters in fiscal year 2024 continues to exceed recent highs, reaching nearly 302,000 in December, according to U.S. Customs and Border Forecast data. This number was nearly 70,000 more than the previous year’s record and had already surpassed the approximately 180,000 cases in 2022 and the 74,000 cases confirmed in December 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
