‘Jihadist’ Lebanese migrant is caught crossing into Texas and tells Border Patrol ‘he was going to try and make a BOMB’ – as Biden’s border crisis spirals towards catastrophe
That’s what a Lebanese migrant who illegally crossed the border at El Paso said according to official data he would ‘try to make a bomb’.
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, also admitted to being a member of Hezbollah when he was intercepted by agents on March 9 at Texas’ southwestern border with Mexico.
He was asked what he was doing in the US while in custody, to which he replied: ‘I’m going to try to make a bomb’ and he was on his way to New York.
Ebbadi said he trained with Hezbollah for seven years before taking on a role monitoring weapons sites for another four years, according to ICE records seen by police. New York Post.
It comes as a “migrant crime wave” is sweeping the country thanks to hundreds of thousands of people crossing the border illegally every month, while tensions rise between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how to conduct enforcement.
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, admitted to being a member of Hezbollah when he was intercepted by agents on March 9 at Texas’ southwestern border with Mexico.
His arrest comes as a “migrant crime wave” is sweeping the country thanks to hundreds of thousands of people crossing the border illegally every month.
In an aerial photo, immigrants pass through coils of barbed wire as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border on March 13
Ebbadi said his training focused on ‘jihad’ and killing people ‘who were not Muslims’ – but he fled the country because he ‘didn’t want to kill people’.
“Once you’re in, you can never get out,” he added, according to the ICE paperwork.
The Lebanese national came to the US without any documentation. He said he lost his papers when he was robbed at knifepoint in Costa Rica.
Ebbadi said his training focused on ‘jihad’ and killing people ‘who were not Muslim’
He also admitted giving a false date of birth and name to officials.
Ebbadi was held in isolation at the El Paso Hardened Facility before being interviewed by the Tactical Terrorism Response Team.
He was marked for deportation from the US, but it is unclear which country he will be taken to.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia militant political party recognized as a terrorist group by the West.
Members of the group killed three American troops in Jordan at the end of January in a drone attack. At least 34 people were also injured during the strike.
The flow of migrants arriving at the southern border has continued through most of President Joe Biden’s term. It has led to millions of migrants flooding into the country and putting pressure on its cities.
America is expected to have more than 8 million asylum seekers and migrants crossing the southern border by September.
The staggering figure represents a 167 percent increase in five years and underlines the challenges facing an immigration system that is both underfunded and outdated.
The US immigration system appears to be struggling to cope with the rapid numbers of migrants pouring across the border, which reached a record high of 302,000 monthly crossings in December.
In an aerial view, immigrants wade through the Rio Grande as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum on March 13
America is expected to have more than 8 million asylum seekers and migrants crossing the southern border by September
Most of the 8 million people are now free to walk America’s streets, including 2 million “high priority” cases of career criminals seeking asylum.
The system appears to be struggling to cope with the rapid numbers of migrants flowing across the border, which reached a record high of 302,000 monthly crossings in December.
The backlog has left millions of migrants currently in the U.S. unsure whether they will be allowed to stay or simply deported.
Migrants crossing the border often have to wait several years for a decision on their application. They have now been released onto American streets.
Recent data shows that the backlog has only increased during President Joe Biden’s term in office, reflecting in part the difficulties his administration has faced in addressing the unprecedented influx of migrants, mainly from Central and South America .
At the end of fiscal year 2023, on September 30, more than 6 million people were enrolled in what officials call the “non-incarcerated roll.”
According to administration projections, as communicated in homeland security documents sent to Congress, this number will rise to 8 million by October 1.
This number includes people who have been ordered deported or who are still awaiting their final decision in their asylum or immigration cases.
The majority are not held in the limited detention space available, but can move around freely.
According to CBP figures, a total of about 2,045,838 people illegally crossed the southern border with the US last year.
These numbers are expected to rise this year – while the northern border with Canada is also experiencing an unprecedented crisis.
The number of illegal crossings from Canada to the US rose 500 percent last year to 10,021 compared to 2022.
According to CBP figures, a total of about 2,045,838 people illegally crossed the southern border with the US last year.
Tensions between state and federal authorities have been rising for months amid a surge in recorded illegal crossings, which reached a record high of 301,983 in December.
Immigration has become a flashpoint of the upcoming election, with both Biden and Trump making competing visits to the border on the same day.
Last month, Texas troopers began arresting migrants who crossed the border for criminal trespass before they could surrender to U.S. Border Patrol agents and seek asylum.
The White House has asked the Supreme Court to overturn an order banning the removal of barbed wire from the banks of the Rio Grande, which poses “a risk to human life.”
The DOJ has said the blockade of Shelby Park has limited the view of the border there “to a narrow sliver of a single surveillance camera outside the newly fenced area.”
It also claims that state authorities denied border police access to a boat ramp and staging area previously used to inspect apprehended migrants.
“Border Patrol agents in a vehicle towing a boat to launch at the boat ramp requested access to Shelby Park, but the Texas National Guard denied them access to the area,” they wrote in the latest filing.
“Border Patrol agents also requested access to the staging area, but the Texas National Guard refused.”
A spokesperson for the Texas Military Department told ABC News the measure was intended “to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate the illegal crossing of immigrants into the park and the greater Eagle Pass area.”