Earlier this month, the Border Patrol detained three Palestinian migrants who had illegally crossed the southern border after they were found to have possible ties to terrorist organizations, according to sources.
A federal law enforcement source said one of the migrants had “lewd photographs” on his cell phone, including one of a masked man holding an AK-47 rifle.
Federal authorities arrested three Palestinians, as well as a migrant from Turkey with suspected ties to terrorist organizations.
The migrants were part of a group of several dozen others who turned themselves in to Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector, sources said.
The investigation into the migrants is ongoing, sources said. The group has been transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating their case.
This is the latest example of a potential security threat entering the United States via the southern border, particularly in San Diego.
Border Patrol officials told The Washington Post that they don’t have the means to thoroughly vet migrants coming from around the world, particularly from the San Diego area.
In most cases, Border Patrol agents can only use U.S. terrorism watch lists and other U.S. resources to determine which migrants may pose a terrorism threat. Border Patrol agents do not have access to other countries’ terrorism or crime databases.
“We don’t have access to anything international because we know who these people are. We really don’t have access, and it really sucks,” said the border patrol official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
“I joined the Border Patrol to protect the country from terrorists, but I ended up letting terrorists into the country.”
A Customs and Border Protection spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is unclear which terrorist organisation the migrants allegedly belonged to.
But after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector were warned to be on the lookout for individuals with ties to Palestinian terrorist organizations.
“The San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division assesses that individuals inspired by or responding to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas may attempt to bypass the southwest border and travel to or from combat zones in the Middle East,” the previous alert said.
“Ideologically motivated foreign fighters and mercenaries may attempt to use Mexico as a cloak of travel between the United States and Middle Eastern countries,” the memo added, listing bases for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.
The migrants’ crossing came just weeks after the Biden administration implemented new policies that limit migrants’ ability to apply for asylum, but the executive order contains a major loophole that still allows migrants to be released into the country.
The San Diego area has the biggest loophole because immigrants from more than 100 countries that don’t accept deportees are exempt from the restrictions and allowed into the asylum system.
As a result, San Diego has attracted immigrants from all over the world, including India, China and Central Asian countries, which are major recruiting bases for ISIS.
The new restrictions, combined with hot summer temperatures, have slowed the overall flow of migrants, but Border Patrol remains concerned about terrorists trying to enter the country illegally, as well as people they’ve already released because countries aren’t sharing information.
As first reported by The Washington Post, last month ICE agents in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia arrested eight Tajik nationals believed to have ties to ISIS, all of whom had crossed the southern border in recent years.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also trying to track down 50 migrants who were brought to the US with the help of an ISIS-linked smuggling ring.
As border crossings have surged under the Biden administration, the Border Patrol has apprehended record numbers of illegal immigrants whose names were on terrorism watch lists. Between fiscal years 2017 and 2020, the Border Patrol apprehended 26 people on terrorism watch lists at the southern border. According to federal government data.
That number jumped to 98 in fiscal year 2022 alone, and rose to 169 the following year.
