US in heightened threat environment: eight people suspected of having links to ISIS arrested (DHS)

NEW YORK CITY (NewsNation) — The United States remains in a heightened threat environment for foreign and domestic terrorism following the recent arrests of eight people from Tajikistan suspected of having ties to the Islamic State group, the Department of Defense confirmed Homeland Security at NewsNation.

The arrests took place in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles and the individuals who entered the United States through the southern border are being detained for immigration violations, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak. discuss the ongoing investigation by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The nature of their alleged ties to ISIS was not immediately clear, but the individuals had been tracked by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, or JTTF, for months. They were in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which made the arrests while they were working with the JTTF, awaiting proceedings to remove them from the country.

To exceed the limits

The individuals from Tajikistan entered the country last spring and went through the U.S. government screening process without obtaining information that would have identified them as potentially linked to terrorism, one of the people familiar with the said. case.

A joint statement from the FBI and DHS confirmed the arrests:

“Over the past several days, ICE agents have arrested several non-citizens in compliance with immigration authorities. These actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces. …The FBI and DHS will continue to work around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate and thwart potential threats to national security.

Sources close to the operation said the individuals were screened by law enforcement upon entering the United States, and there was no indication they had ties to ISIS there. era.

However, law enforcement later became concerned about their presence in the United States and took action, officials said.

Increased threat to national security: Wray

The arrests came months after FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of an increased threat to national security. He testified before Congress in April about his concerns that human smuggling operations at the border were introducing people with possible ties to terrorist groups.

“I will tell you that we have a number of cases where a person of concern, for whom there was no biometrics or other adequate identifying information at the time they are encountered, and then information is found later that highlight why it's concerning and then it's the FBI and our partners who then have to try to find the person, take whatever action they can to thwart the threat that that person poses.

Wray also warned of a possible coordinated attack in the United States following the ISIS-K terrorist attack in March on a Russian concert hall, in which 145 people were killed.

“The FBI and DHS will continue to work around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate and thwart potential threats to national security,” the agencies said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.