Federal Agents Nab ‘Potential Terrorist’ Amid New Surge at US–Mexico Border

A male Saudi Arabian national described as a potential terrorist poses after he was arrested for illegally entering the United States, in Arizona on Dec. 16, 2021. (U.S. Border Patrol)

U.S. Border Patrol agents recently arrested a man described as a potential terrorist shortly after he illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico.

The 21-year-old male is from Saudi Arabia. He’s “a potential terrorist” who “is linked to several Yemeni subjects of interest,” Chris Clem, the chief patrol agent in the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector, wrote on Twitter on Monday.

The man was arrested on the evening of Dec. 16.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which includes Border Patrol, declined to give more information.

The Yuma Sector includes three counties in Arizona. The terror suspect did not enter into Yuma County, county Sheriff Leon Wilmot told The Epoch Times.

“Been worried about that since day one with this administration and lack of border security. Over 7,000 getaways last fiscal year in Yuma. What are their intentions?” Wilmot said in a text message. He said in the last two months, Border Patrol has apprehended illegal aliens from 116 different countries.

“Are we looking at a 9/11 again, only on a huge scale? It’s scary,” he said.

Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, told The Epoch Times in an email that he was deeply troubled by the apprehension of the Saudi national.

“As I and many of my colleagues have been saying for months, the impact and relevancy of the Biden Border Crisis are not limited to communities along the southwest border. Migrants are entering the United States illegally in record numbers from a litany of countries. We are undoubtedly experiencing a nationwide crisis,” he said.

Katko is seeking information from the Department of Homeland Security about the matter. He has been rebuffed so far over attempts to push the agency to make public the number of known and suspected terrorists apprehended at the border.

The male Saudi Arabian was wearing a jacket from the Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The jacket appears to be one of those handed out to volunteers but the style was discontinued in 2018, Thomas Meyers, chief of the corps, told The Epoch Times.

“We typically get our uniforms back from our employees and members. That one, I don’t know how it slipped through the cracks or how that individual ended up with it. I don’t know. We’re investigating that now,” he said.

A Border Patrol agent organizes illegal immigrants who have gathered by the border fence after crossing from Mexico into the United States in Yuma, Ariz., on Dec. 10, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

The corps, based in New York, has reached out to Border Patrol but hasn’t yet heard back.

“Today’s news that a potential terrorist was caught at the border wearing a Central Oneida County volunteer ambulance uniform hits close to home. I’ve reached out to @ICEgov & @CBP for answers. How did this individual acquire the uniform & what risks did he pose to our community?” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) said on Twitter.

The arrest of the potential terrorist comes as the Biden administration presides over the worst border crisis in the nation’s history, setting records for the most illegal immigrant apprehensions in a fiscal year, in a calendar year, and in multiple months, including November.

Illegal immigrants from all over the world have been recorded as entering the United States during the recent surge, including nationals of Afghanistan, Russia, and Romania.

In a single week in Texas, illegal aliens from 40 nations were nabbed near the border.

Border Patrol earlier this year in California caught two Yemeni nationals on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist.

Todd Bensman, a senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Epoch Times earlier this year that the increase in illegal crossings makes it easier for potential terrorists to slip across the border.