Immigration Officials Arrest and Deport ‘Suspected Terrorist’ Near the Northern Border

Immigration officials caught a “suspected terrorist” who entered America illegally near the northern border and sent him back to his home country of Jordan, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The suspect, Mohammad Hasan Abdellatif Albana, was arrested by Border Patrol near the northern border at Lynden, Washington. According an announcement by ICE on Wednesday, Mr. Albana did not enter the country legally and immigration officials identified him as a “known or suspected terrorist.”ICE took custody of him and sent him back to Jordan on Nov. 15 after an immigration proceeding. It was not clear when he entered the U.S.In a statement, Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle Field Office director Drew Bostock said, “ERO Seattle is committed to the removal of noncitizens who pose a risk to the national security of the U.S. Our officers perform these removals dutifully as a part of a federal law enforcement effort to protect Pacific Northwest Communities.”Republicans in Congress have raised concerns about the situation at America’s borders and the potential for people with terrorist connections to enter the country illegally.An August report from the House Judiciary Committee found that more than 250 people stopped at the southwest border between 2021 and 2023 were on the terrorist watchlist. Individuals on the watchlist came from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Turkey and Yemen.“DHS has released into American communities at least 99, with at least 34 others in DHS custody but not yet removed from the United,” the report said. “So far during fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol has encountered tens of thousands of illegal aliens nationwide from countries that could present national security risks, including 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese nationals, 541 Iranian nationals, 520 Syrian nationals, and 3,104 Uzbek nationals.”Lawmakers in northern states have been trying to bring attention to the situation there as well. In the 2023 fiscal year, 484 individuals on the terror watchlist were arrested trying to cross into America from Canada.Congressman Nick Langworthy of New York introduced legislation in June to address the “national security” threat posed at the Canadian border.According to the congressman, 143 people on the terrorist watch list and 1,274 pounds of fentanyl were stopped at the northern border in the first seven months of the 2024 fiscal year.The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to conduct an annual threat analysis for the northern border and update its strategy if necessary, provide classified briefings to Congress about the threat analysis and develop methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the air and marine operations.Some Democrats in the Senate have expressed support for Mr. Langworthy’s bill. Senator Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, called it a “commonsense, bipartisan measure” and introduced it in the upper chamber in September.

Immigration Officials Arrest and Deport ‘Suspected Terrorist’ Near the Northern Border

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