DHS identifies more than 400 migrants brought to the United States by ISIS-affiliated human trafficking ring

The Department of Homeland Security has identified more than 400 immigrants who came to the United States from Central Asia and elsewhere as areas of concern because they were brought by a human trafficking ring affiliated with the Islamic State, three US officials told NBC News.

While more than 150 of them have been arrested, the fate of more than 50 remains unknown, officials said, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to arrest them on immigration charges when they are located.

In this case, it was the information that suggested a potential link to ISIS due to the fact that some of the individuals involved in [smuggling migrants to the border] That has led us to want to be particularly cautious, a senior Biden administration official said, and, out of prudence, to make sure that we exercise our authority in the broadest and most appropriate way to mitigate the risks because of this potential established link.

The official added that since ICE began arresting migrants brought to the United States by the ISIS-linked smuggling group several months ago, no information has emerged linking them to a threat to American homeland.

Many of the more than 400 migrants crossed the southern border and were released into U.S. Customs and Border Protection because they were not on the government's terrorism watch list, according to the three responsible, and the agency did not have information raising concerns at the time. .

But recent terrorist attacks in Russia have fueled heightened concern about ISIS and its ISIS-K offshoot. In recent months, DHS has taken a closer look at migrants from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Russia, countries where ISIS-K is active.

The lack of knowledge of the victims' whereabouts is clearly alarming, said Christopher O'Leary, former head of the FBI's counterterrorism section who now works at security consultancy The Soufan Group.

OLeary said ICE likely plans to make the arrests to take into custody people who may pose a threat to national security, even if there is no evidence they are planning an attack.

I believe that [U.S.] is scrambling to locate these individuals, and the use of immigration charges is not uncommon, OLeary said. They are violating this law. And if you need to take someone off the street, this is a good approach to do it.

Thousands of migrants from these countries are already in the United States awaiting court decisions on whether or not to stay.

Two officials said federal law enforcement is not panicking about the people now identified as concerns, but is prioritizing their immigration arrests out of an abundance of caution.

Some of the 150 people arrested have already been deported, authorities said. Other people's whereabouts are known in 17 states and could be arrested soon. Other migrants may have already left the United States voluntarily.

Some of those detained or deported so far have been charged with immigration violations. None have been charged with terrorism-related offenses.

Earlier this month, ICE arrested eight Tajik men in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles for their alleged affiliation with ISIS.

NBC News was first to report the similar arrest of an Uzbek man in Baltimore whose home country alerted the United States that he was affiliated with ISIS. He was arrested in April after living in the United States for more than two years, two U.S. officials said. At the time he entered the United States, there was no indication he had any ties to terrorism.

Counterterrorism officials say the terrorist threat from migrants crossing U.S. borders has been historically low. Since October, the number of migrants entering the United States from Mexico and Canada that authorities have linked to names on the terrorism watch list represents 0.014 percent of all CBP encounters, or slightly less of one in 7,000 migrants screened, according to CBP data.

Recently, however, some current and former U.S. officials are sounding the alarm about the need to improve U.S. border controls in the interest of national security. They point to an increase in immigration from countries like Venezuela, China and across the Eastern Hemisphere that do not routinely share law enforcement information and criminal data with the United States on grounds of concern.

NBC News reported in April that an Afghan named Mohammad Kharwin, 48, whose name was on the U.S. terrorist watch list, was released by CBP because they did not have enough information at the time. of his crossing. He spent nearly a year in the United States before being arrested in San Antonio in February. He was released again on bail after a court hearing, then arrested again hours after NBC News published a story about his case.

The DHS Office of Inspector General recently highlighted problems with enforcement at the U.S. southern border, saying in a report that Department of Homeland Security technology, procedures and coordination were not fully effective in screening and screening non-citizens seeking admission to the United States. .

In a letter to DHS on Monday, the Republican-led House Homeland Security Committee requested the unredacted version of this inspector general report to assess how DHS has handled this important issue. national security.

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