The reported capture of three Palestinian migrants at the southern border found to have terror ties marks the latest incident of migrants with terror links -- and comes after officials told agents to be on the lookout for Hamas-tied fighters.
The New York Post reported that three migrants with "possible ties to terrorist organizations" turned themselves in at the border in California, and one of the migrants had "salacious photos" on their phone, including an image of a masked man holding an AK-47 rifle.
In addition to the Palestinians, one migrant from Turkey is suspected of having ties to terror groups.
It is unclear which terrorist organization the migrants were allegedly affiliated with, and the outlet reported that the case was being investigated by federal authorities.
The apprehensions come months after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had issued a memo in October in San Diego, warning that those "inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border."
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"Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico."
It warns of possible indicators, including military-age males, the possession of military gear, single travelers, an undetermined return plan and an association with the region.
CBP had stressed at the time that it "provides frontline personnel a wide range of context for situational awareness in order to ensure they remain vigilant in fulfillment of our homeland and border security missions"
"Situational awareness briefs are not threat assessments," an official added.
The number of caught illegal migrants whose names appear on the terror watchlist has significantly increased under the Biden administration, from a handful before he took office to 98 for fiscal year 2022. The number skyrocketed to 169 in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data. So far this fiscal year, there have been 93 encounters.
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The TSDS contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. It initially contained only known or suspected terrorists but now also includes additional individuals who represent a "potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals."
However, the threat of potential terrorists coming through the border has been a constant concern given the massive number of migrants coming through the southern border, with a record 2.4 million encounters in FY 23. Last month, alarm bells were sounded after DHS identified over 400 individuals brought to the U.S. from Eastern European and Central Asian countries by an ISIS-affiliated smuggling network.
DHS said of the remaining 50 individuals still at large, a small number may be on the watch list, but there was no intelligence that suggests the remaining individuals pose an imminent threat.
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Before that, eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were busted by federal authorities in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. All eight came in via the southern border illegally, but no concerning information was flagged during processing.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned about potential terrorist attacks and recently said that there is an increasing concern of a potential coordinated attack in the U.S., similar to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) attack in March at a concert hall in Russia.
In March, he also warned of a "wide array" of threats at the border.
"From an FBI perspective, we are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border. And that includes everything from drug trafficking — the FBI alone seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people — that's just on the fentanyl side," he said.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
