2 Iranians who 'could pose a significant security threat' captured at US border, sources say
Iranian individuals are flagged by Terrorist Screening Database
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two Iranians who are "raising red flags that they could pose a significant security threat" have been captured over the past two weeks at the American border, sources with U.S. Customs and Border Protection tell Fox News.
The identities of both Iranians appeared on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), the sources confirmed.
Meanwhile, an Iranian man in his 40s was taken into custody around 3 a.m. Sunday in Eagle Pass, Texas, becoming the fourth individual from the country to be captured since Oct. 1 in the Del Rio sector.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In fiscal year 2023, which began at the start of last October, there were 151 total hits on the TSDB through the period ending on Aug. 31.
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Border Patrol officers process migrants after they crossed the Rio Grande into the U.S. in May 2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Four Iranians have been captured since Oct. 1, 2023, in the Del Rio sector. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
That figure is more than the total of the previous six fiscal years combined.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the first two weeks of this fiscal year, the CBP sources told Fox News that agents have apprehended more than 30 Iranians, nearly 60 Syrians, 35 Pakistanis, more than 100 Russians, 285 Afghans and nearly 2,000 Chinese migrants at the southern border.
The Department of Homeland Security previously warned that an increasing amount of people on the U.S. terrorist watch list are being encountered at the border.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Border Patrol agent looks over the Eagle Pass area in February 2003. (Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images)
In its 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment report released last month, the agency said that although "encounters with migrants have declined from record highs in December, migrants seeking entry to the United States are still arriving at a rate that is on pace to nearly match 2022 total encounters."
"As part of this increase, we have encountered growing numbers of individuals in the Terrorist Screening Data Set (TSDS), also known as the ‘watchlist,’" the report said.
"During the next year, we assess that the threat of violence from individuals radicalized in the United States will remain high, but largely unchanged, marked by lone offenders or small group attacks that occur with little warning," the DHS also said. "Foreign terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS are seeking to rebuild overseas, and they maintain worldwide networks of supporters that could seek to target the Homeland."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Department of Homeland Security says an increasing amount of people on the U.S. terrorist watch list are being encountered at the border. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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The ongoing Israel-Hamas war also has put law enforcement across the U.S. on alert. FBI Director Chris Wray noted that there has been a spike in recent domestic threats.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also gone on record saying that the U.S. should not take in any potential refugees from the Gaza Strip due to security concerns.