Palestinians with terror ties detained after illegally crossing southern border, agents overwhelmed: report
Three Palestinian migrants who crossed into the United States illegally through the southern border were detained after they were found to have terrorist ties, according to media reports.
Federal law enforcement sources told the New York Post that one of the migrants had "salacious photos" on their phone, including an image of a masked man holding an AK-47 rifle.
In addition to the Palestinians, one migrant from Turkey is suspected of having ties to terror groups.
It’s unclear which terrorist organization the migrants were allegedly affiliated with.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to border authorities.
The migrants were among a larger group who turned themselves in to border agents at the San Diego Sector. They were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating their cases.
Border agents at the San Diego Sector have been overwhelmed but don't have access to criminal databases in other countries to properly vet migrants, said one unidentified agent who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity.
"Knowing who these guys are, we have, like, no access to anything international. Like, we really don’t and it kind of sucks," the agent said. "I wanted to get into Border Patrol and protect from terrorists. And it’s like, well, I probably let terrorists in the country."
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Border agents in San Diego have been warned to keep a lookout for people possibly tied to Palestinian terror groups following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
"San Diego Field Office Intelligence Unit assesses that individuals inspired by, or reacting to the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border," a previous alert stated.
"Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the U.S. to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico," the memo added.
It listed patch insignia of various terror groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.
The number of caught illegal migrants whose names appear on the terror watchlist has significantly increased under the Biden administration, from a handful before he took office to 98 for fiscal year 2022. The number skyrocketed to 169 in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data.