According to people familiar with the investigation, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained eight individuals from Tajikistan on Tuesday, June 11, during the course of the weekend in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles on suspicion of having ties to ISIS.
According to the sources, the suspects were detained by employees of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after coming to the attention of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“All eight suspects entered the US via the southern border, and initial background checks didn’t reveal criminal activity,” told officials.
According to the officials, one of the two individuals who crossed the border in the spring of 2023 did so by using the CBP One app, which was developed by the Biden administration to allow migrants to schedule appointments in order to claim asylum.
A potential terrorist threat emanating from Central Europe was being monitored by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The sources claim that throughout this probe, the arrested males were examined.
According to a senior US official, the FBI had been closely monitoring the group for a number of months and kept track of their whereabouts.
The FBI informed ICE that despite not having been charged with terrorism, they ought to be detained due to possible connections to ISIS.
According to two sources, the suspects are in custody and will likely be subject to removal proceedings before an immigration judge. They may also be charged with offenses related to terrorism.
“ICE agents have detained multiple non-citizens in response to immigration authorities during the past few days,” the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Federal authorities worked closely together to make these arrests. The individuals under ICE custody are subject to removal procedures.
