U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested three Palestinians who crossed the border from Mexico illegally on suspicion of involvement in terrorism, The New York Post reported on Monday. One of the Palestinians had “salacious photos” on his phone including a photo of a masked man holding an AK47.
The men were arrested earlier this month along with a Turkish national who was also suspected of involvement with a terror organization.
“Knowing who these guys are, we have, like, no access to anything international. Like, we really don’t and it kind of sucks,” said one border agent. “I wanted to get into Border Patrol and protect from terrorists. And it’s like, well, I probably let terrorists in the country.”
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Illegal immigrants attempt to cross the U.S. Mexico border
(Photo: Henrika Martinez / AFP)
According to the report, border agents in the San Diego sector were warned to be on the lookout for people tied to Palestinian terrorist groups after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.
“Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico,” border officials said in a memo to troops.
The Post said border agents caught record numbers of illegal migrants whose names appear on the terror watchlist as border crossings spiked under the Biden administration. "Between fiscal years 2017 and 2020, border agents caught 26 terror watch-listed individuals at the southern border, according to federal data. That number quickly jumped to 98 in fiscal year 2022 alone, followed by 169 the next year."