Border Patrol officers intercepted a Lebanese migrant near the El Paso border in Texas earlier this month. The individual, alleging affiliation with Hezbollah, expressed intentions to travel to New York to construct an explosive device. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson confirmed this on Monday.
The detainee is currently in U.S. custody, and authorities are investigating his background and assertions. The CBP official, opting for anonymity, provided these details.
As initially reported by The New York Post, Basel Bassel Ebbadi, aged 22, was apprehended attempting to traverse the Texas border on March 9. He purportedly disclosed to agents his training experiences with Hezbollah and explicitly mentioned his intent to fabricate a bomb.
Responding to queries, a spokesperson from CBP issued a statement emphasizing the agency’s protocol regarding potential security risks. They stated that individuals posing a possible threat to national security or public safety are denied entry, detained, removed, or referred to other federal agencies for further scrutiny, investigation, and if warranted, prosecution.
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Hezbollah holds the designation of a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State. Notably, a threat assessment released by the Department of Homeland Security disclosed that border agents had encountered an escalating number of individuals listed on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist attempting to infiltrate the country through its southern border.
Ebbadi also reportedly admitted he trained with Hezbollah for seven years and served as an active member for an additional four years. His duties included guarding weapons locations. During the first four months of Fiscal Year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023, nearly 60 migrants illegally entering the United States have been identified as being on the terror watch list.
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Approximately 270 more were apprehended in the prior two fiscal years — shattering previous records.
A CBP spokesperson said, “If an individual poses a potential threat to national security or public safety, we deny admission, detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting, investigation, and prosecution as appropriate.”
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Hezbollah has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department. NBC News reported in September that border agents had encountered a “growing number of individuals” on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist trying to enter the country via the southern border, according to a threat assessment released by the Department of Homeland Security.
It remains unclear whether the individual detained on March 9 was among the identities listed on the Terrorist Screening Dataset. During the interview on March 12, agents Mirandized the man who later admitted to being a member of a foreign terrorist organization.
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