Federal immigration authorities arrested an illegal immigrant wanted in Senegal for suspected terrorist activities, two weeks after he was released into the country after being encountered by agents at the southern border.
In a press release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says a 29-year-old “unlawfully present Mauritanian or Senegalese citizen” was arrested on October 17.
ICE says he is wanted by Senegalese authorities for criminal conspiracy in connection with a terrorist organization; destruction, degradation and damage in relation to a terrorist organization; direct provocation of an armed crowd and acts (or preparatory acts) intended to compromise public safety.
But he had first been found on Oct. 3, two weeks earlier, by Border Patrol agents on the southern border near Lukeville, Arizona.
He was then processed by officials and served with a Notice to Appear in New York City and released on his own recognizance.
A week after his release, on October 10, ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents notified Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York City that he was wanted on terrorism charges in Senegal.
ICE says the illegal immigrant is wanted for criminal conspiracy in connection with a terrorist organization; destruction, degradation and damage in relation to a terrorist organization, together with other terrorist activities. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
ICE’s New York City Fugitive Operations team then arrested him “without incident” outside the Federal Plaza immigration court in New York City.
He is now in custody in deportation proceedings.
“Noncitizens who participate in or are suspected of supporting terrorism are a direct threat to the national security of our country and will be promptly removed from the United States,” the director of the city’s field office said in a statement. from ERO New York, Kenneth Genalo. “ERO New York City will use every tool at our disposal to keep American citizens and residents safe from those who mistakenly believe they can exploit our immigration laws to escape justice in other countries.”
Following the immigrant’s release on October 10, ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents notified Enforcement and Removal Operations that he was wanted on terrorism charges in Senegal.NYPJ
But the release of a foreign national wanted on terrorism charges in another country is likely to fuel ongoing concerns about the entry of terrorists or terrorism suspects into the United States across the embattled southern border, particularly in the wake of the Hamas terror attack on Israel. .
Border Patrol agents have expressed concern to Fox News before that, unless someone has committed a crime in the US, agents may not know a migrant’s criminal history, as many countries they do not share their databases with the US.
Republicans have separately expressed concern about the number of terrorist watch list encounters at the southern border, which hit a record high in FY23, as well as the number of “special interest aliens” encountered, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants that agents evaded as “escapes.”
Border Patrol agents have made it known that unless someone has committed a crime in the U.S., most agents will not know a migrant’s criminal history because other countries do not share their databases. with the U.SNYPJ.
Recently, a CBP memo warned agents about the possibility of foreign fighters associated with terrorist groups such as Hamas attempting to enter the United States, although CBP has emphasized that it has seen no indication that fighters are attempting to do so.
The Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal 2024 threat assessment warned that agents have encountered increasing numbers on the watch list and warned that “terrorists and criminal actors may take advantage of the elevated flow and security environment.” increasingly complex to enter the United States.”
DHS has emphasized that it has “multi-layered border security efforts,” including screening and investigations, and has also said that encounters with known or suspected terrorists are rare.
“Our border security efforts include biometric and biographical screening and screening,” a DHS official said this week. “CBP screens and vets each individual encountered, and if it is determined that an individual poses a potential threat to national or public security, in coordination with the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), we deny admission, detain them, we expel it or refer it. to other federal agencies for further investigation and prosecution, as appropriate.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn