Illegal immigrant who is on the Terror Watchlist was arrested in NYC after being released back into the U.S. | Law Enforcement Today

BROOKLYN, NY - A migrant from South Africa who illegally entered the United States via the southern border, landed a "positive match" on the terrorist watchlist and was arrested in New York City months after being released by Border Patrol.

According to Fox News, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said that the unidentified illegal immigrant from South Africa was initially detained in Texas for criminal trespassing, but was released.

A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) told Fox News that the migrant was first arrested on a ranch near Eagle Pass in September, then turned over to border patrol who released him into the interior of the United States. His arrest, along with 36 other illegal immigrants, was documented and shared on social media by Lt. Chris Olivarez, the spokesperson for the Texas DPS. In that post, Olivarez said that among the group were special interest illegal immigrants from Turkey, Pakistan, India, and Vietnam.

Owens said that further investigation into the illegal immigrant revealed a "positive match on the terrorist watchlist." Once he was positively identified as being involved in terrorism, a multi-agency effort was launched, leading to his arrest in Brooklyn, New York. Officials are unsure how or when he arrived in New York City, but that it was obviously sometime after September.

Owens said, "Thanks to the coordination of multiple agencies, this potential threat was located, taken into custody, and is now pending removal." As of this writing, authorities have yet to release further information on the illegal immigrant from South Africa.

According to the Daily Caller, in August, it was estimated that at least 99 individuals on the U.S. terror watchlist had been released into the country under the Biden-Harris administration after illegally crossing the southern border.

Between fiscal year 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol agents encountered more than 250 illegal immigrants on the terror watchlist at the southern border. However, according to a congressional report, the Department of Homeland Security later released nearly 100 of those individuals into the country. 

Concerns of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border and into the United States began to surface in 2023 as there have been a record high encounters of immigrants illegally crossing during the Biden-Harris administration. The House Judiciary Committee has confirmed that Border Patrol agents have encountered foreign nationals on the terror watchlist from 36 different countries. 

According to a report from CBS News back in September, far more terrorist on the watchlist are encountered at the northern border than the south, although most are encountered at ports of entry. Border Patrol data states that 358 suspects on the terror watchlist were arrested on the norther border at ports of entry in fiscal year 2024. On the southern border, a total of 155 suspects were encountered in fiscal year 2024.

Eric Lavelle, the Border Patrol Agent in Charge of the Beecher Falls Station in Vermont said in a statement at the time, "It's not the ones that we've caught, and we've been able to vet that are the concern to me. It is the individuals that we don't know about."

He said that he and his agents do not feel overwhelmed, but that they are too familiar with the term "gotaway," the people who evade the Border Patrol. He said, "It is certainly significant enough to be a concern."