A source within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says that the ongoing surge of illegal aliens into the United States has brought over a hundred Middle Eastern illegals as well, including 100 Syrians and 50 Iranians who were apprehended by Border Patrol.
As Breitbart reports, the source says that the Middle Easterners were arrested across multiple border sectors in the southwest, with the latest involving an Iranian national near Eagle Pass, Texas, on Saturday. He was one of 300 illegals who attempted to cross the border into the small town which has since been overrun with illegals.
The anonymous source further revealed that CBP has received no guidance from the federal government about any expected influx of Middle Eastern illegals, despite the rapid escalation in tensions in the region after a series of massive terrorist attacks against Israel by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
“We are receiving no advance warning of the arrival of Special Interest Migrants from the region with any specificity,” said the source. “We are left to sort through the grab-bag of migrants in small and large groups to figure out who is in the group and why they are coming.”
In a one-week period from October 8th to October 14th alone, 6 Iranians, 3 Lebanese, one Egyptian, and one Saudi Arabian were all arrested by Border Patrol trying to cross the Rio Grande River in the Del Rio Sector, which includes Eagle Pass. Both Syria and Iran are currently under Level 4 travel advisories from the State Department due to ongoing terrorism, instability, and anti-American sentiments in the region.
For the overall Fiscal Year of 2023, which ended on September 30th, a total of 61,000 “Special Interest Migrants” were encountered by Border Patrol agents. This represents a 140% increase from Fiscal Year 2022, when only about 25,500 Special Interest Migrants were arrested.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) describes a “Significant Interest Migrant” or “Significant Interest Alien” as “a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.”
“Often, such individuals or groups employ travel patterns known or evaluated to possibly have a nexus to terrorism,” the DHS’ 2019 fact sheet continues. “DHS analysis includes an examination of travel patterns, points of origin, and/or travel segments that are tied to current assessments of national and international threat environments.”
The threat of Islamic terrorism around the world has reached a level not seen in decades, with pro-Hamas protests and riots sprouting up all over the world following the attacks on Israel. There have been multiple attacks against U.S. forces throughout the Middle East, while Israel has begun its long-anticipated ground incursion into the Gaza region in a retaliatory effort against the Palestinian terrorists who killed over 1,400 Israelis in the weekend of October 7th and October 8th.