WASHINGTON (TN) — According to the New York Post, a 35-year-old Palestinian migrant on the terrorist list was arrested at the southern border this week.
Omar Shehada was captured in Santa Teresa, New Mexico as part of a group of seven people. During processing, it was discovered that he was on the watch list and he is currently being deported.
The memo on Shehada links him to the use of “explosives/bombs.” His arrest came weeks after three other Palestinians with possible ties to terror groups were arrested in the San Diego sector. One of the men allegedly had a picture of a masked man with an AK-47 on his phone, according to a report by the Post. It is not known which terror groups the alleged suspects are linked to.
Critics of border policy consider the total number of terror suspects arrested at the border to be worrying.
“Ask yourself this question: If you’re on the FBI’s terrorist list, why are you trying to come into this country? So many of us in law enforcement are so worried that the next 9/11 is not about airplane hijackings, it’s about someone crossing the southern border,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) told Fox News this week.
Intelligence officials have repeatedly warned this year and since October 7 about the potential consequences of war in the Middle East and how it could fuel terrorism around the world.
“While it is too early to tell, it is likely that the Gaza conflict will have a generational effect on terrorism. Both al-Qaeda and the Hamas-inspired ISIS have directed followers to carry out attacks against Israeli and U.S. interests,” Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told a Senate committee in March.
Last year, 736 terror suspects were arrested at the US border. Six weeks before the end of the current fiscal year, 361 arrests have already been made.
