Lauren Irwin and The Hill
45 mins ago
(The Hill) — Eight people in the U.S. with suspected ties to the Islamic State have been detained, according to reports.
The arrests took place in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles and the individuals entered the country through the southern border, anonymous sources told The Associated Press. They had been vetted by law enforcement upon their entry, sources said, and there was no indication of their ties to the Islamic State at the time.
Their connection to the Islamic State group is not immediately clear but the individuals were being tracked by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was working with the JTTF and made the arrests, It’s now working to remove them from the country, per the sources.
The individuals were from Tajikistan and passed through the U.S. government’s screening process after entering the country last spring, the AP reported.
The news service noted that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a statement confirming the arrests of “several non-citizens” and said the U.S. has been in a “heightened threat environment.”
CBS News reported that there was no active terror plot but the information was of concern. At the time of their entry, the individuals were vetted by law enforcement and there was no indication they held ties to the group, more commonly known as ISIS.
The individuals crossed the border without proper documents and were released into the U.S. with notices to appear in immigration court. Law enforcement later became concerned with their presence and took action.
They are in detention and face deportation proceedings now, but an official told CBS that it’s difficult to deport people to Tajikistan due to operational and diplomatic reasons.
The arrests were first reported by the New York Post.
The JTTF has been made aware of a potential terrorist threat originating in central Europe and began watching the individuals as part of that investigation, NBC News reported.
In April, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the U.S. is facing more threats from violent extremists, particularly in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas. He said officials are concerned about terrorism implications by people “targeting” vulnerabilities at the southern border.
