Islamic State also uses coyotes: it brought more than 400 immigrants to the US

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified more than 400 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States through a human trafficking network which may have some connection with the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS)prompting additional review of those individuals, two US officials told NBC News, the first outlet to report the news.

The purpose of the network was to smuggle people, not to bring in terrorists, said one of the officials.

But this is the same network that brought eight Tajik citizenswho were arrested earlier this month after officials discovered they had some specific and concerning connections to the terrorist group.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said that These individuals are already in the process of being deported to their country.

Approximately 150 of these 400 immigrants classified as “persons of interest” have already been arrested, the report detailed, according to which the whereabouts of about 50 are unknown.

The officials clarified that there is no information that these people, who entered the United States through the southern border, have posed a threat to national security.

Mayorkas did not confirm this information when asked about the report at a press conference, but He clarified that those who have ties to said terrorist group will be considered a threat to public safety.

“They will be given priority to be detained and deported,” Mayorkas said.

Immigration management has become one of the main concerns of American voters ahead of the presidential elections on November 5.

Former Republican President Donald Trump has doubled down on his xenophobic rhetoric during this election cycle, characterizing all immigrants arriving at the southern border as “criminals.”

For his part, the current Democratic president Joe Biden, who hopes to be re-elected, has decided to take heavy-handed measures, limiting access to asylum on the border with Mexico and ensuring that immigration is carried out through legal channels.

Keep reading:
• ICE arrests eight foreigners residing in the country for alleged links to ISIS
• Trump boasts Republican unity and marks immigration as a priority by pointing out that migrants arrive “from prisons”
• ACLU published its roadmap to combat the immigration threats of a second Trump term