ICE annouces arrest of 171 illegal immigrants in 25 US cities
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers apprehended 171 unlawfully present noncitizens with pending charges or convictions for murder, homicide or assault against children, officials said.
President Biden’s acting ICE director, Patrick Lechleitner, admitted that a terrorist was allowed to roam freely in the United States for nearly a year after crossing into the country illegally at the border.
At a briefing on Thursday, Lechleitner said the terrorist was arrested within 48 hours, only after ICE “became aware.”
Lechleitner confirmed a report by The Daily Caller that federal authorities caught a terrorist illegally crossing into the U.S. via the southern border in March 2023.
However, the terrorist was then released into the U.S. due to a “mismatch” after his name was run through the terror watch list, The Daily Caller reported.
DEMOCRATS DENY BORDER CRISIS, PLACE BLAME ON REPUBLICANS AND TRUMP
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Patrick J. Lechleitner speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 1, 2024. (Fox News)
The unnamed terrorist was a member of al-Shabab and was captured last month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to the outlet.
SPEEDBOAT PULLS UP TO SAN DIEGO SHORE AND DROPS OFF GROUP OF SUSPECTED ILLEGAL MIGRANTS
When questioned by Jennie Taer of The Daily Caller about how many other terrorists have been apprehended in the interior after coming through the border, Lechleitner refused to answer her question.
United States border in El Paso, Texas. (Kelly Laco/Fox News Digital)
Instead, he addressed the capture of the al-Shabab terrorist.
“I want to commend our personnel because as soon as we became aware of that – within 48 hours – he was apprehended, and he’s currently in ICE custody,” Lechleitner said. “I think that’s an incredible result – a testament to how professional, quite honestly, how capable our personnel are.”
According to the U.S. State Department, al-Shabab is al Qaeda’s largest, wealthiest and most deadly affiliate. The group has murdered thousands of people in Somalia and the region, including Americans.
Fox News Digital has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more information.
A Connecticut man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after he allegedly butchered his daughter's 2-year-old bulldog, police said. Arnaldo Read more
A California community college professor was arrested on Thursday in the case of a pro-Israel protester who died after an Read more
Thousands of Chinese nationals have hit the southern border since the beginning of the fiscal year, along with hundreds of Read more
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday praised President Biden for being the "first president in the United States Read more