ICE Arrests 8 Migrants with Suspected Ties to ISIS Who Crossed the Border Illegally Last Year

Federal agents have arrested eight people in several U.S. cities with alleged ties to the Islamic terrorist group ISIS in recent days.

The Department of Homeland Security and FBI released a joint statement saying, "Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities."

"The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings...The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security," it continued.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says the migrants are from the central Asian nation of Tajikistan and illegally crossed the southern border last year, but were allowed to remain in the country.

Authorities monitoring their activities discovered information linking them to the terror group.

They were detained in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia and face immigration charges.

Officials say there was no active terror plot and there's not enough evidence to charge them with terrorism.

The apprehensions were first reported by the New York Post saying the investigation featured a wiretap that revealed one of the suspects was talking about bombs. 

"Remember the Boston marathon (bombing)? I'm afraid something like that might happen again or worse," one source told The Post.

The arrests come after FBI Director Chris Wray warned about possible ISIS terror plots in the country. 

As CBN News reported in April, the director told a House panel that he has seen "the threat from foreign terrorists rise to a whole other level" following attacks by Hamas operatives in Israel on Oct. 7.

He added that bad actors could draw inspiration from such attacks in the Middle East.  

"Our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home," Wray said.

The eight suspects who were arrested earlier this week will likely be deported.

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***