As of June 26, Department of Homeland Security identified 400 migrants who have been smuggled into the United States via networks affiliated with the Islamic terror group ISIS.
The government department admitted the whereabouts of 50 of those people was still unknown. As of June 20 this year a further 90 suspected terrorists were encountered and stopped at the Southern Border.
Those fiendish undesirables are not alone. As a map assembled by The Post shows, from one end of the United States to the other, intelligence failures between government departments have allowed potential terrorists over the border.
Once their terror ties are realized, the FBI and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement then have to locate the individuals — sometimes years after they were admitted.
Although the DHS tries to keep most of these situations under wraps, The Post has identified cases involving 16 individuals from California to North Carolina who were hiding in plain sight, often blending in among the millions of migrants who have crossed into the US in recent years.
“Alarm bells are ringing and it is a significant concern for law enforcement.”
Here is a cross-country chronicle of the alleged terrorists who have thankfully been apprehended.
Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya, caught in Texas
Just prior to former President Donald Trump’s February visit to the US entry-point at Eagle Pass, Texas, Border Patrol agents spotted a Colombian national by the name of Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya.
Though he made it to the other side, the 40-year-old proved to be a positive match on the terror watch list.
Suspected of being part of an undisclosed terrorist organization, Yepez-Bedoya was arrested after being spotted in Southern Texas.
Tajik nationals, caught in New York, California and Pennsylvania
A multi-agency sting in June led to the arrests of eight unnamed terrorist suspects who were all Tajikistan nationals. They had all been apprehended after illegally crossing the border into the United States near San Diego, some six months before being taken down in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
At the time of their border crossing, they were incorrectly believed to have no terrorist ties. Nevertheless, sources told The Post the group was discussing bombs while in the US, which sparked authorities to co-ordinate their swoop. All are currently in proceedings to be removed from the country.
Jordanian nationals, caught in Virginia
An alleged Jordanian terrorist, who had crossed America’s Southern Border in May, attempted to breach the entrance of Quantico Marine Corps Base with a box truck. It was just a few days after he entered this country.
He was accompanied by another man, a fellow Jordanian. Questioned by a Quantico guard, they claimed to be sub-contractors for Amazon. At some point, after being rebuffed, the alleged terrorist and his accomplice attempted to ram their way in but were stopped by quick thinking guards. It was two weeks later before base representatives went public about the incident.
Both men were arrested and placed into custody.
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, caught at the border
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 21, is a terrorist but an honest one. At the El Paso, Texas, border in March, a Border Patrol official asked Ebbadi what he planned on doing in the United States. “I’m going to try to make a bomb,” Ebbadi is said to have claimed.
Following his arrest, in a sworn statement, he admitted to being a member of Hezbollah.
The talky terrorist just missed getting into the US — and that was a stroke of luck for America. “The only reason we caught this guy is because he’s a moron,” a Border Patrol source claimed. “If he never said anything, he would have gotten through.”
Somali extremist, caught in Minnesota
A 27-year-old alleged Somali terrorist entered the United States through California. Despite being on a watchlist as a “confirmed member of al Shabaab,” with a specialization in explosives or firearms, he was allowed to enter America in March 2023.
That was when the Somali man was deemed a “mismatch” on the list. He somehow flew to Minnesota and was arrested there after federal authorities realized that the mismatch decision was a mistake. As to what drew him to Minnesota, that remains unclear.
Mohammad Kharwin, caught in Texas
Deemed a suspected member of a “virulently anti-Western” terrorist group, Mohammad Kharwin, 48, was nevertheless cut loose after being arrested by Customs and Border Protection agents after the Afghan immigrant illegally entered the US near San Ysidro, Calif. That was in March 2023.
Almost a year later, the FBI recognized him as part of a the terror group Hezb-e-Islami, aka HIG. That led to his arrest this past February, in San Antonio, Texas. But a judge there, unaware of the alleged terrorist’s background, sprung Kharwin on just $12,000 bail.
Authorities scrambled to correct their error and as to Kharwin’s current whereabouts, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Post in April he is back in custody.
Senegalese Terrorist, caught in New York
In October, a 27-year-old man from Senegal, who was wanted there for alleged terrorist activities, was arrested by ICE’s New York City Fugitive Operations team.
They nabbed him in front of Manhattan’s Federal Plaza immigration court. Amazingly, he had previously been processed at the southern border in Lukeville, Arizona.
Officials there released him on his own recognizance, after he was served with a Notice to Appear in New York City. He appeared, was apprehended and, as of last year, awaited deportation back to his African homeland.
Awet Hagos, caught in North Carolina
This past March, Awet Hagos was arrested for shooting his gun outside of a Quick Stop convenience store, where he worked part-time in Eure, NC.
But gunplay was the least of the North African man’s worries and a break for ICE. Hagos entered the US illegally from Haiti and was on a terrorist watchlist.
According to a letter sent to President Biden, written by Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, “this violent individual is originally from an area near Yemen, a known hot-bed of anti-American terrorist activity.”
