Latest news with #IranianNationals
Fox News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Over 700 Iranian nationals released into US during Biden administration despite terrorism concerns
Over 1,500 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. at the southern border were arrested during the Biden administration, and nearly 50% of them were released back into the country, according to a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source. More specifically, Border Patrol agents arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024. Of the 1,504 individuals who were arrested, 729 were released into the U.S. The number of Iranian nationals arrested at the southern border increased year-to-year, with 48 being arrested in FY21; 197 in FY22; 462 in FY23 and 797 in FY24. Likewise, the number of Iranian nationals released also increased, with 12 in FY21; 40 in FY22; 229 in FY23; and 448 in FY24. It is unclear how many of the Iranians released into the U.S. were on the terrorism watchlist, as the Biden administration repeatedly denied Fox News' Freedom of Information Act requests and appeals for the data. The Biden administration cited "privacy concerns" of the people on the list, as well as "minimal public interest" for denying the requests. Still, there were over 2 million known gotaways at the border during the Biden administration, and because they were never caught, there is no way of knowing where the individuals were from. All Iranians are considered "special interest aliens" because of national security concerns. Therefore, they are supposed to receive enhanced vetting from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The news comes as U.S. officials sound the alarm regarding the threat of terror-backed sleeper cells in the country just hours after President Donald Trump ordered the successful strikes on key nuclear facilities within Iran. Hours after Trump addressed the nation about the military strikes, the DHS issued a memo sounding the alarm to a "heightened threat environment" in the U.S. While the bulletin did not cite any specific threats, it came as Iranian officials vowed retaliation against the U.S. The bulletin points to law enforcement within the U.S. disrupting "multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots" since 2020, while noting the Iranian government's unsuccessful attempts to target critics of its regime. The advisory comes after Trump ordered military strikes on Iran's key nuclear facilities in what officials are calling "Operation Midnight Hammer," prompting law enforcement to be on high alert regarding the threat of foreign adversary operatives conducting an attack on U.S. soil, with thousands of Iranian nationals previously crossing over the border. "Because of the open borders, we are at a serious catch-up phase," Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital. "We don't know where those thousand Iranians are and who knows how many others got across the border. We missed an opportunity when they caught and released those thousand. We missed the opportunity to gather intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We just simply let them go, which is gross negligence on the part of the Biden administration." The possibility of foreign cells carrying out a domestic terror plot was pushed into the national spotlight last year after federal prosecutors announced a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two U.S.-nationals were arrested for allegedly plotting to murder then-President-elect Trump and a U.S. citizen critical of the Iranian regime.
CBS News
28-06-2025
- CBS News
Federal agents arrest two people tied to human smuggling operation in L.A.
Two people tied to human smuggling operation in LA arrested by federal agents Two people tied to human smuggling operation in LA arrested by federal agents Two people tied to human smuggling operation in LA arrested by federal agents Federal agents arrested two people at a San Fernando Valley home described as a human smuggling hub tied to national security threats, according to Customs and Border Protection. "The location has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism," CBP wrote in a post to X. The arrests happened on Friday afternoon while CBP's Special Response Team served a search warrant at the house located on Napa Street in North Hills. Federal agents arrested seven Iranian nationals at the same address earlier this week, some of whom were on the FBI Terror Watchlist and "associates of an Iranian human trafficking network," according to CBP. "CBP is taking aggressive action to shut down smuggling networks and remove national security threats before they can do harm," CBP wrote in a post to X. Residents in the North Hills neighborhood said someone new had moved into the home about six months ago. "There was a bunch of young people and they would hang out at night, pacing on the phone, sitting on the curb," neighbor Claudio Bonoli said. "Talking to my neighbors, they say they were kind of intimidated by them." The idea that people on a terror watchlist were living on their street rattled Bonoli and some of his neighbors. "It's only two houses from my house," he said. "This has been a really great, quiet neighborhood for a long time. So, it's totally surprising."
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
ICE arrests 100+ Iranian nationals across US amid sleeper cell concerns
Print Close By Cameron Arcand, Bill Melugin, Jasmine Baehr Published June 26, 2025 EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 130 Iranian nationals throughout the United States in the last week, and 670 Iranian nationals are in ICE detention, as the Trump administration continues to increase arrests of Iranian nationals in the country illegally amid security concerns. Multiple federal sources confirmed the numbers, as administration officials and national security experts have warned about the possible risk of sleeper cells being activated, as well as those who may be inspired to retaliate domestically after the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program sites. "The presence in this country of undocumented migrants or Iranian nationals who have links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, in my judgment, a domestic law enforcement concern of the highest magnitude," former Obama-era Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on "Fox & Friends." OBAMA'S FORMER DHS SECRETARY SOUNDS ALARM ON IRANIAN SLEEPER CELLS, CALLS IT CONCERN OF 'HIGHEST MAGNITUDE' The border crisis under the Biden administration, which resulted in millions of people entering the country illegally, also underscored the concerns. "We don't know who they are, where they came from, why they're here," border czar Tom Homan said last week. "This is the biggest national security vulnerability we've ever seen." Meanwhile, former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey said it "definitely" made things worse. MORE IRANIANS WITH CRIMINAL HISTORIES ARRESTED BY ICE IN TRUMP'S SECURITY SWEEP: 'WORST OF THE WORST' "I think one thing that's really concerning about that: One, they weren't doing any really meaningful vetting in the last administration," Fahey said. "The second part of it is, you know, we have probably 2 million known gotaways come through the last administration, and the people that went through the non-ports of entry, we knew they went through but nobody caught them, so we have no idea who went through," he continued. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE ICE sources confirm that some of those arrested have criminal histories, including charges related to drugs, weapons and domestic violence. HOSPITALS IN SANCTUARY CITIES COULD BE MOST VULNERABLE TO IRAN TERROR ATTACKS, WARNS EXPERT At least one had served as a sniper in the Iranian military within the last four years. During the Biden administration alone, roughly half of the 1,500 Iranian nationals released into the U.S. were released into the interior. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A recent Supreme Court ruling allowing deportations to third-party countries — even where diplomatic relations are limited — could lead to detainees being sent to nations other than Iran. This ruling was triggered by a flight that headed toward South Sudan with illegal immigrants who had serious criminal convictions, but it was thwarted by a federal judge in Boston, and the legal debate is still ongoing. Print Close URL
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
ICE arrests dozens of Iranian nationals across US amid sleeper cell concerns
EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 130 Iranian nationals throughout the United States in the last week, and 670 Iranian nationals are in ICE detention, as the Trump administration continues to increase arrests of Iranian nationals in the country illegally amid security concerns. Multiple federal sources confirmed the numbers, as administration officials and national security experts have warned about the possible risk of sleeper cells being activated, as well as those who may be inspired to retaliate domestically after the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program sites. "The presence in this country of undocumented migrants or Iranian nationals who have links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, in my judgment, a domestic law enforcement concern of the highest magnitude," former Obama-era Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on "Fox & Friends." The border crisis under the Biden administration, which resulted in millions of people entering the country illegally, also underscored the concerns. "We don't know who they are, where they came from, why they're here," border czar Tom Homan said last week. "This is the biggest national security vulnerability we've ever seen." Meanwhile, former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey said it "definitely" made things worse. "I think one thing that's really concerning about that: One, they weren't doing any really meaningful vetting in the last administration," Fahey said. "The second part of it is, you know, we have probably 2 million known gotaways come through the last administration, and the people that went through the non-ports of entry, we knew they went through but nobody caught them, so we have no idea who went through," he continued. ICE sources confirm that some of those arrested have criminal histories, including charges related to drugs, weapons and domestic violence. At least one had served as a sniper in the Iranian military within the last four years. During the Biden administration alone, roughly half of the 1,500 Iranian nationals released into the U.S. were released into the interior. A recent Supreme Court ruling allowing deportations to third-party countries — even where diplomatic relations are limited — could lead to detainees being sent to nations other than Iran. This ruling was triggered by a flight that headed toward South Sudan with illegal immigrants who had serious criminal convictions, but it was thwarted by a federal judge in Boston, and the legal debate is still ongoing.
Reuters
24-06-2025
- Reuters
US arrests 11 Iranians in US illegally, Homeland Security says
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested 11 Iranian nationals in the country illegally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday. Authorities also arrested a U.S. citizen accused of threatening law enforcement and harboring one of the Iranian nationals, according to the department, which oversees ICE.
