Officials are scrambling to “identify and assess” a group of migrants brought into the U.S. by a smuggler that has ties to ISIS, according to a report from CNN.
No specific ISIS plot has been identified at this time.
“There was no indication — and remains no indication — that any of the individuals facilitated by this network have a connection to a foreign terrorist organization, or are engaged in plotting a terrorist attack in the United States,” National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson told CNN.
From The New York Post:
Authorities say the migrants requested asylum at the border with Mexico earlier this year and were screened by Homeland Security.
Nothing in any of the intelligence community’s databases raised any red flags, CNN reported, and they were all released into the US pending a court appearance.
It was only later that the FBI learned of a smuggling network helping Uzbeks into the US — which involved at least one individual with ties to ISIS.
The bureau began a nationwide search for the migrants, and also worked with Turkish authorities, who apprehended the smuggler and other members of the network, the report said.
It has since received more information from that unnamed smuggler to aid in the bureau’s investigation, officials said.
According to CBS News, “Border Patrol has reported apprehending 125 migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border with positive terrorism watchlist matches so far this fiscal year, already above the previous record of 98 set in fiscal year 2022, government figures show. In fiscal year 2021, the agency reported just 15 such apprehensions.”
FBI scrambling to track migrants who entered US with help of ISIS-linked smuggler:
report https://t.co/fd4PuXHYWe via @nypost
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