The Biden administration is pausing the release of migrants from Tajikistan due to terror concerns.
The migrants are only to be released after undergoing an interview by intelligence officials.
More than 1,500 Tajik migrants entered the United States from the southern border between October 2020 and May 2024.
According to the New York Post, officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were informed that migrants from the ISIS-affiliated country are not to be released into the United States.
“It seems like the damage is already done. I appreciate they’re trying to do what they can after the fact,” former acting ICE director Tom Homan told the outlet. He explained that if “they would turn on the Trump policies, secure the border, end catch and release,” the United States would be safer.
Last month, eight Tajik migrants were arrested for suspected terrorist ties.
The arrests prompted House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) to lead a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, demanding information on the migrants.
“It is unclear how each of the eight individuals came to reside in the United States, though reports indicate that two crossed the Southwest Border of the United States in the spring of 2023 and one used the CBP One App to schedule an appointment to be screened prior to entry,” Green’s June 18 letter, co-signed by Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Dan Bishop (R-NC); Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX); and Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-LA) reads.
“Unfortunately, the unacceptable security failures that have allowed individuals with terrorist ties to enter the United States through the Southwest Border have become an alarming pattern under this administration,” the Republicans note.
