A Tajikistani migrant connected to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group was released into the United States by Joe Biden‘s Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The individual is among a group of foreign nationals apprehended in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York City during a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) anti-terrorism operation.
The Tajik migrant entered the U.S. through the southern border and is believed to have been vetted by federal law enforcement. Initial screenings did not reveal ties between the Tajik migrant and ISIS. They were subsequently released into the U.S. interior and assigned a court date in 2025 to appear before a federal immigration judge. However, subsequent investigations raised concerns, prompting action by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Unchecked flows of illegal migrants at the U.S. southern border continue to pose a national security threat, with the Tajik ISIS affiliate being only the latest terrorist to gain entry to the country. The National Pulse previously reported that a known member of the Somali terrorist group al Shabaab was able to reside in the U.S. for almost a year due to an error by federal agencies.
In another concerning border security breach, an allegedly “demobilized” member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)—a communist-aligned terror group—was apprehended in Texas this past March. The Biden government twice released Mohammad Kharwin, an Afghan national associated with the Hezb-e-Islami group, into the U.S. interior after he initially crossed the border earlier in March 2023.
Since Fiscal Year 2021, almost 400 individuals on the Terrorist Watch List have been apprehended at the border trying to enter the U.S.
