No.
Though federal officials in 2024 acknowledged that immigrants with possible ties to ISIS had been arrested in the U.S. — and that others had entered the country through an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network — those links were not known at the time of the individuals’ admission. Customs and Border Patrol’s initial vetting of the arrivals did not raise any red flags, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Once federal authorities, through counter-terrorism initiatives, identified the potential ties to terrorist organizations like ISIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement pursued arrests.
Federal law generally prohibits anyone believed to be a member of a designated terrorist organization, as well as anyone who has engaged in what the U.S. considers terrorism-related activities, from entering the United States.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, Extremists Exploit Vulnerabilities at the U.S.-Mexico Border
- NBC News, DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network
- New York Times, The Southern Border, Terrorism Fears and the Arrests of 8 Tajik Men
- House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, Terror at Our Door: How the Biden-Harris Administration’s Open-Borders Policies Undermine National Security and Endanger Americans
- U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
