WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week the FBI confirmed they are looking into how a human trafficker associated with a terrorist organization helped smuggle migrants into the US. While the feds said they have not identified a specific terrorism plot associated with these foreign nationals, republicans are blaming the Biden administration for this.
CNN first reported that the FBI and law enforcement agencies are investigating how a group of Uzbek nationals crossed the US- Mexico border after they sought asylum. According to the report, intelligence officials found that the migrants traveled with the help of a smuggler with ties to ISIS.
The national security council spokesperson said they do not believe that any of these people facilitated by this network have a connection to a foreign terrorist organization or are engaged in plotting a terrorist attack in the United States. However, out of the roughly 120 Uzbek migrants the FBI is trying to locate about 15. According to DHS officials the migrants went through routine screenings by CBP agents when they entered the US and there was no intelligence in any of the government’s terrorist databases that indicated any of them presented a threat. Regardless, the incident triggered meetings among top national security and administration officials. It follows recent congressional hearings focusing on border security concerns.
“What we need is enforcement by the executive branch to enforce the laws on the books by the president, if they begin doing that we’ll see a change very quickly,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R- AZ) during a congressional hearing in August.
House republicans have criticized the Biden administration for being too lax on border security at both the southern and northern borders. The Biden administration says otherwise.
“In fiscal year 2023 through June, Customs and Border Protection personnel encountered 2.3 million inadmissible aliens at the ports of entry and in between the ports of entry almost as many as the [indaudible] year in 2022,” said Rep. Glenn Grothman (R- WI) during a congressional hearing in August.
Homeland Security stresses there have not been any degradation or lapses in screening at the border due to the number of people coming in from Mexico.
