In 2015, the Obama administration insisted the southern border was secure, yet dozens of illegal aliens from terrorist nations entered the United States through Mexico and were being held in a Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center.
The detainees were nationals of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and they were seeking asylum in the U.S.
One of the detainees released from the ICE processing center said he arrived in El Paso after traveling from South America to Juarez, Mexico. He is a national of Bangladesh, his name is MD Nasir Uddin and he claims to be a refugee seeking asylum.
Just last month the U.S. issued a terrorism alert warning that militants in Bangladesh may be targeting westerners. “The U.S. government continues to receive information that terrorist groups in South Asia may also be planning attacks in the region, possibly against U.S. government facilities, U.S. citizens, or U.S. interests,” the bulletin states. “Terrorists have demonstrated their willingness and ability to attack locations where U.S. citizens or Westerners are known to congregate or visit.” Afghanistan and Pakistan have long been known as the headquarters of Al Qaeda’s global leadership and the State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism offers all the juicy details.
The fact that individuals from these three terrorist nations have made it all the way to the U.S. through the Mexican border is downright alarming. Judicial Watch contacted officials from several Homeland Security agencies—including ICE and the Border Patrol—but none would comment on the 54 Afghans, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis held in El Paso. – Judicial Watch
Even more alarming is the stunning new evidence that reveals how the lawless Obama regime, who thumbed thier noses at our nation’s immigration laws, has put our national security at risk. Under the direction of the Obama regime, ICE was not even following the proper procedures to vet illegal aliens who were known terrorists or had ties to terror.
WFB – During the Obama administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not following proper procedures when checking if illegal aliens were known terrorists, jeopardizing national security, according to an audit.
The office of inspector general found that between 2013 and 2015, ICE was not screening illegal immigrants who had been released for terrorist ties. Every single case of a suspected terrorist reviewed by the inspector general included errors, where ICE officials were not in compliance with security standards.
“ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) faces challenges in implementing the Known or Suspected Terrorist Encounter Protocol (KSTEP) screening process, which is used to identify aliens who may be known or suspected terrorists,” the inspector general said. “Although ERO uses KSTEP to screen all aliens who are in ICE custody, ERO policy does not require continued screening of the approximately 2.37 million aliens when released and under ICE supervision.”
Between 2013 and 2015 there were 142 cases of illegal immigrants who were detained and identified as “known or suspected terrorists.” The inspector general reviewed 40 of those cases.
“All 40 files had at least one instance of noncompliance with KSTEP policy, generating greater concerns regarding the population of aliens screened and determined to have no connections to terrorism,” the inspector general said.
In addition to not following security protocols, the majority of ICE field offices do not have access to the Department of Homeland Security’s classified networks, which enables them to “communicate about derogatory information related to known or suspected terrorists.”
“As a result, ERO may be missing opportunities to identify, take into custody, communicate status of, and make decisions on those aliens who pose the highest risk to national security and public safety,” the inspector general said.
Of the 40 cases reviewed under the audit, nearly half were missing required background checks while the illegal alien was detained.
“ERO is to conduct separate biographic and biometric queries on every alien taken into custody and/or released,” the inspector general said. “However, in these instances, at least one of the required queries was either run by non-ERO personnel, was not performed while the subject was in ICE custody, or was not applied.”
In addition, ICE did not always run initial background checks, “contact the appropriate external personnel at the required points in the process,” or “fully document its actions.”
ICE blamed these deficiencies on “limited program oversight and weak management controls.”
