Latest news with #JamilBahlouli
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE Nabs Ali Shahrezaei In San Antonio, Marking Another High-Profile Iranian Arrest
A second Iranian national has been arrested in Texas as tensions seem to be easing after a dramatic exchange of firepower between the U.S. and Iran last month. Social media accounts for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Sunday that its San Antonio office had arrested Ali Shahrezaei, a 42-year-old Iranian citizen who apparently entered the United States illegally in October 2022. Shahrezaei's arrest marks at least the second high-profile Iranian apprehended by federal authorities in Texas in recent weeks. Last week, officials arrested Jamil Bahlouli, a previously deported Iranian man who reentered the U.S. illegally and allegedly skipped a scheduled immigration appointment. Bahlouli was said to have resisted arrest at his home in Austin and slammed the door on deportation officers. He had been convicted of illegal re-entry in Montana earlier this year and now faces up to four years in prison, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office Western District of Texas. It is unknown exactly how many Iranians may be in the United States illegally. Federal data shows a sharp uptick in Iranian nationals crossing into the United States illegally in recent years. Border Patrol apprehended 1,504 Iranians from fiscal years 2021 through 2024—nearly half of whom were later released into the country, according to a report from The Center Square. Releases increased year-over-year under the Biden administration, reportedly topping 448 in 2024 alone. One federal agent told The Center Square that the data, obtained on condition of anonymity, do not include so-called 'gotaways'—foreign nationals who enter the U.S. illegally without being apprehended. That figure surpassed 2 million under then-President Biden.
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Fox News
Previously self-deported Iranian illegal immigrant picked up after refusing ICE arrest in Texas
A previously deported Iranian man living in the United States illegally was arrested this week in Texas, federal prosecutors said. Jamil Bahlouli was found at an Austin home where deportation officers attempted to arrest him as part of a 2020 removal order after he skipped out on an appointment at an immigration office, the Justice Department said. When authorities found Bahlouli in the doorway of his home, he "refused to be arrested and took an action designed to prevent or hamper his deportation and departure pursuant to the outstanding final order of removal by slamming the door on the deportation officers," court documents state. He is charged with failure to deport. Bahlouli self-deported to Canada on Oct. 14, 2021 following the removal order. However, he re-entered the U.S. illegally at some point and was found around Dec. 15, 2023, authorities said. The 2020 removal order used to deport him the first time was then reinstated, the Justice Department said. He was charged with illegal re-entry and information with illegal entry, for which he was convicted in Montana on Jan. 5, 2024, according to court documents. He was sentenced to time served and released into the U.S. Bahlouli was scheduled to report to an ICE office in San Antonio on Jan. 23, 2024 but never showed up, authorities said. He faces up to four years in prison. ICE is investigating the case.
