The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified over 400 illegal aliens who were brought into the U.S. by a smuggling network affiliated with jihadist terror group ISIS.
150 of the 400 illegals have since been found and arrested in communities nationwide, but the whereabouts of 50 others are unknown and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is looking to arrest them on immigration charges, according to NBC News.
NEW: 50 illegal immigrants brought into the U.S. through an "ISIS-tied smuggling network" are unaccounted for by DHS.
DHS identified over 400 illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. by this ISIS smuggling network. Over 150 have been arrested, but the whereabouts of more than 50… pic.twitter.com/xBywXDj5Wx
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) June 26, 2024
A “senior Biden official” with DHS whose name was withheld said the government hasn’t seen evidence the 400 illegals plan to commit terrorist attacks, but is still looking to arrest them “out of an abundance of caution.”
From NBC News:
One of the U.S. officials said people affiliated with ISIS are operating as human smugglers in Central Asia and helping people there leave their countries and travel to the West, where they are then smuggled into the U.S. It is not known whether the human smuggling activity directly funds ISIS activity or whether ISIS members are making personal money through human smuggling on the side, the U.S. official said.
The official added that the U.S. has no indication that the more than 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by the network have plans to carry out terrorism in the U.S., but immigration agents are looking to arrest them out of an abundance of caution.
“In this case, it was the information that suggested a potential tie to ISIS because of some of the individuals involved in [smuggling migrants to the border] that led us to want to take extra care,” said a senior Biden administration official, “and out of an abundance of caution make sure that we exercised our authority in the most expansive and appropriate way to mitigate risk because of this potential connection being made.”
The report confirms concerns by Republican lawmakers that Joe Biden’s open-border policies are facilitating an influx of terrorist-linked individuals into the U.S.
“We know for a fact that dangerous cartels and gangs have used our broken borders as a means to enter the United States. Now, we have confirmation that terrorist-related networks are using similar tactics to smuggle people into our country,” Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said in a statement Wednesday.
“Every light is blinking red. We cannot continue to put border security on the back burner—that goes for both the Biden administration and Congress,” he added.
But DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at a press conference Wednesday denied NBC’s “inaccurate” reporting — which notably cited other Biden admin officials.
“DHS confirms that at least 400 migrants with potential ISIS ties recently crossed into the United States–” a reporter began.
“That is incorrect,” Mayorkas interrupted. “That reporting is incorrect. We do not have identified 400 people with potential ISIS ties. And let me again assure you that individuals who are identified to have those ties would pose a concern to us from a public safety and security perspective and they would be priorities for detention and removal.”
Impeached DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas DENIES "at least 400 migrants with potential ISIS ties recently crossed into the United States" after they were released by the Biden administration pic.twitter.com/4oZzWwvu8w
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 26, 2024
At the same press conference, Mayorkas also claimed “Biden is bringing order to the border” despite the spate of brutal rapes and murders of Americans by illegal aliens in recent weeks.
Given the blatant falsity of his statement that the border is secure, taking Mayorkas’ word at face-value doesn’t seem to be a wise approach.