Terror suspect from Tajikistan illegally crossed border into San Diego, was let in by officers: sources
At least one of eight suspected terrorists from Tajikistan arrested in a multi-agency sting over the last week had illegally crossed into the US at San Diego and been in the country at least six months, The Post has learned.
One of the ISIS-linked group — recently busted in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia after FBI surveillance indicated they may be a national security threat — had crossed the border, was vetted by agents, then allowed into the country with a court date last year, according to sources.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed, also complied with instructions to meet with local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles.
Sources also told The Post ICE agents are also being warned they will likely have more terror-related migrant arrests to make — and possibly more involving the same group from Tajikistan.
San Diego is currently the busiest sector for illegal crossings on the border — and subject to special instructions which allow citizens of over 100 countries to be processed into the US, including individuals coming from countries tied to national security threats such as China and Turkey.
However, there are six countries from which adult migrants are to be sent for immediate removal from the US: Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, per Border Patrol.
In the last week, there have been 8,000 migrants apprehended by border officers after crossing illegally, sources told The Post Wednesday.
The arrest of the eight Tajikistan nationals — first reported by The Post yesterday — took place after the FBI co-ordinated with ICE to take them. It was later confirmed all are now in proceedings to be removed from the US.
The eight Tajiks were already being surveilled by federal authorities, who discovered there was discussion of bombs among the group.
All eight of them crossed the southern border and at least one had used the CBP One app to enter, according to NBC News.
All of them were released by federal authorities who found no terror-related records associated with their names.
That is likely because “sometimes there is just no information on individuals,” acting ICE director Patrick Lechleitner told NewsNation Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment, but released a joint statement with the FBI Tuesday confirming that ICE had made “several arrests” in recent days “in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces.”
“The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security. ”
The operation follows FBI Director Chris Wray’s warnings to Congress about the possibility of ISIS terror plots taking place on US soil and the group possibly exploiting the southern border.
Wray warned lawmakers in April of the possibility of a “coordinated attack” on US soil following an ISIS-K attack on a concert hall in Moscow — carried out by citizens of Tajikistan — that killed 145 people and wounded hundreds more.
“Our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home,” Wray told a House Appropriations subcommittee.
“But now, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall a couple weeks ago,” he said.
Last August, CNN reported the FBI had been investigating a Turkish smuggler tied to ISIS who had been helping dozens of migrants from Uzbekistan cross the US-Mexico border.
Border Patrol has recorded an uptick in migrants crossing the southern border illegally whose names appear on the terror watchlist, with such encounters increasing from 11 in the financial years 2017 through 2020 to 362 between financial years 2021 and April 2024, according to federal data.
