Federal authorities detained eight individuals of Tajik origin due to immigration-related offenses, as the investigation uncovered indications of possible terrorism connections.
One person revealed that these eight individuals had slipped into the United States through the southern border before and encountered US officers, who couldn't find anything negative about them at that time. Another individual mentioned that authorities discovered potential connections to ISIS members living abroad, motivating the federal investigation.
According to the sources, arrests took place in Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The latest news from ICE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared that eradicating individuals was a combined effort of these two agencies and affirmed that those detained would be staying in ICE custody for removal proceedings.
In their statement, they emphasized the need to be cautious given the increased level of threats in the country.
The New York Post was the first to share details about these arrests.
Officials had been observing this group for over a month, but recently chose to execute their expulsion from the country through ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), as they didn't want the FBI continuously tracking them to see if they'd set off any dangerous plans.
The investigators don't think these eight people attended extremist training abroad or were specifically sent to the US to conduct violent attacks.
Although a minor fraction of the them allegedly expressed worrisome extremist views, it's undecided whether the rest captured were merely connected to these individuals.
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During the removal proceedings, these individuals will be under the custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Upon discovery, authorities found potential links to ISIS members living abroad, which led to the federal investigation involving the US.
