On Wednesday, June 26th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had identified over 400 migrants who were brought into the United States by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network. This alarming revelation has led to the arrest of more than 150 of these individuals, while the whereabouts of over 50 remain unknown.
According to United States officials, individuals connected to ISIS have been operating as human smugglers in Central Asia, helping people from countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Russia enter the U.S. Many of these migrants crossed the southern border and were initially released into the U.S. by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) because they were not on the government’s terrorism watchlist.
Despite the potential ties to ISIS, the U.S. has no indication that the migrants intend to carry out terrorist activities within the country. DHS officials emphasized that the arrests are being made out of an abundance of caution to mitigate any potential risks. “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,” a senior Biden administration official stated.
The discovery comes amidst heightened concerns about ISIS and its offshoot ISIS-K, particularly following recent terrorist attacks in Russia. As a result, DHS has been closely monitoring migrants from regions where ISIS-K is active. Federal law enforcement agencies are prioritizing the arrest of these migrants on immigration charges to ensure national security, even in the absence of evidence linking them to terrorist plots.
Former FBI counterterrorism section chief Christopher O’Leary noted that using immigration charges to detain individuals who may pose a threat is a common approach. “They are in violation of that law. And if you need to take somebody off the street, that’s a good approach to do it,” O’Leary said.
While some of the arrested migrants have already been deported, others are still being located and detained. The Biden administration’s handling of this situation has drawn criticism from some Republicans, who blame the administration for allowing these migrants to enter the country. Representative Mark Green, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, stated, “There’s literally no one President Biden won’t turn away — including illegal aliens from problematic countries smuggled in by networks connected to ISIS.”
The DHS’s announcement underscores the need for improved vetting and coordination at the U.S. borders to prevent potential security threats. As authorities continue to track and arrest the remaining migrants, the focus remains on safeguarding the country from any possible risks associated with the ISIS-linked smuggling network.
