Some of the eight Tajikistan nationals with alleged ties to ISIS who crossed the southern border illegally have already been deported from the United States, or are in detention waiting for removal, officials said on Tuesday.
The eight nationals crossed the U.S. southern border illegally, and a federal source told Fox News in June that no derogatory information was initially flagged during their processing by officials at the border.
The illegal immigrants were nabbed in coordinated raids in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force.
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The case highlighted concerns about a potential terror threat that could come across the southern border amid what was then a historic border crisis.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that some of the nationals had already been removed.
“In close coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), these individuals were detained in June, have remained in ICE custody since then, and either have already been removed from the United States or remain in ICE custody pending completion of their removal proceedings,” the spokesperson said.
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“The arrest and removal of these individuals demonstrates the successful collaboration and partnership between DHS and FBI to disrupt and dismantle potential national security threats,” they said.
CBS News had first reported the removals, reporting that three have been deported to Tajikistan and Russia, four are awaiting removal flights to Central Asia and one is still awaiting his legal proceeding after a medical issue.
There have been continued fears over the potential for terror attacks from ISIS in the U.S. FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in June that there is an increasing concern of a potential coordinated attack in the U.S., similar to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) attack in March in Russia.
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“Just in the time that I’ve been FBI director, we’ve disrupted multiple terrorist attacks and cities and communities around the country. We need funding to continue protecting America from terrorism,” Wray said.
With the November presidential election looming, the Biden administration has been emphasizing its efforts to remove or prevent the entry of illegal immigrants into the U.S. Numbers have gone down sharply since the signing of a presidential order limiting asylum in June.
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Officials say that since June 5, they have removed or returned more than 131,000 individuals to more than 140 countries, including operating more than 400 international repatriation flights. But returning illegal immigrants can often be difficult if host countries refuse to accept their nationals.
But a recent report by the House Judiciary Committee shows that there have been more than 1.7 million “special interest aliens” (SIAs) who have arrived at the border during the Biden administration. Special interest aliens come from countries identified by the U.S. government as having conditions that promote or protect terrorism or potentially pose some sort of national security threat to the U.S.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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