Two Yemeni men on the FBI’s terror watch list have been arrested in recent months for illegally entering the US from Mexico, federal authorities said Monday.
The men, 33 and 26 years old, were picked up near the Calexico Port of Entry in California in separate incidents on January 29 and March 30, respectively, according to Customs and Border Protection.
The older man was found with a cell phone SIM card under the insole of his shoe, CBD said.
Data checks conducted after both men were caught showed they were on a government watchlist for terrorism suspects and a “no-fly” list, authorities said.
CBD has not disclosed the identities of the men.
The terror watch list includes people known or reasonably suspected to be involved in terrorist activities, the FBI said.
The news of the arrests comes as the number of migrants moving to the US-Mexico border has increased since President Joe Biden took office, posing a challenge to his administration as it works to provide housing for unaccompanied minors arriving in large numbers.
And last month, Republican lawmakers traveling the southern border had said, citing customs and border protection agents, that some suspected terrorists were headed for the crossing.
With pole wires