Eight illegal migrants from Tajikistan with ties to ISIS were apprehended in a multi-city sting that included ICE and FBI operations in New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
All eight suspects had originally crossed the U.S. southern border illegally.
According to The New York Post, “Two ICE sources confirmed…they arrested the people, who hail from Tajikistan, over the last week after the FBI contacted the agency.”All suspects reportedly entered the U.S. via the southern border and passed initial vetting.
“Part of the investigation featured a wiretap which revealed one of the now-arrested individuals was talking about bombs, the sources said.”
In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI told The Post: “Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities.
“The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings … The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security. ”
Republicans are sounding the alarm after the close call, with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham asking for a full briefing from Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell.
“I have never been more worried than I am right now about an attack on our homeland due to the combination of the Biden Administration’s shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan and broken border policies. This is a lethal cocktail for America,” Graham told Fox News Digital.
Montana Senator Steve Daines says he’s been sounding the alarm for months.
“I’ve been sounding the alarm for months that Joe Biden’s wide-open southern border is leaving our homeland wide open to potential terrorists,” Daines said. “This news is not surprising – but if it’s not a wake-up call to Biden and the Democrats, I don’t know what will be.”
“The pattern is clear and there is not a bigger national security threat facing our nation than Biden’s southern border crisis,” Daines said.
During former President Donald Trump’s final year in office, three illegal migrants on the terror watchlist were encountered at the southern border.
So far, in 2024: eighty.
