(NewsNation) — The United States government confirmed Tuesday that a human smuggler with connections to a terrorist group helped migrants cross the nation’s southern border.
National Security Council officials say the smuggler has been arrested. The migrants have no known connection to terrorism, officials added. CNN, the first outlet to report the situation, said the smuggler has ties to ISIS.
Republicans, however, blame the episode on the border policies under President Joe Biden’s administration.
It’s unclear when the Uzbek nationals arrived, but U.S. officials say intelligence later discovered the smuggling network and the connection of one smuggler to a terrorist organization. The FBI is working with the U.S. government to track down the migrants and determine whether they pose an ongoing threat to national security. There is no indication the individuals are plotting an attack on the U.S.
Still, former U.S. Department of Homeland Security official Chuck Marino says the U.S. should have been able to predict the event.
“We should have known that this was a possibility with our border from the very beginning,” Marino said. “Adversaries are paying attention very closely to what goes on here in the United States, and if there’s a gap in our homeland and national security, they are going to exploit it.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, told NewsNation while he finds the report “extremely concerning,” its “sadly, not surprising.” It does, however, underscore the uncertainty of who is among those who enter the U.S. under the radar and without authorization, said Green, who is also the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security,
“This report is a startling new example of the national security risk these individuals pose to our homeland,” he said. “With nearly 1.6 million known got-aways, there is no telling how many suspected or known terrorists, or individuals with ties to suspected terrorists, have evaded apprehension by law enforcement.”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Senate Republicans account used the situation to slam Biden.
“From terrorism to fentanyl to child trafficking — Biden’s open border is dangerous,” the account posted.
The National Security Council is working to identify people who fit a profile similar to those the network brought to the U.S., vet, detain them and send them into expedited removal proceedings.