DHS tracking down, arresting 400 migrants brought to US by ISIS-linked smugglers – National & International News – WED 25Jun2024

DHS tracking down, arresting 400 migrants brought to US by ISIS-linked smugglers.

Sources: Biden admin mulls allowing US military contractors to fight in Ukraine.

NATIONAL NEWS

DHS tracking down, arresting 400 migrants brought to US by ISIS-linked smugglers

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, has identified 400 migrants who were brought to the US through a human-smuggling network with links to ISIS. The migrants were released into the US after border encounters with CBP as none were on a US terror watch list. The agency was also not in possession of any information that raised concerns at the time. It’s not clear from current reporting over how long a period these migrants have entered the US.

Due to recent ISIS attacks in Russia and threats against European sporting events this summer, including the Paris Olympics, US authorities have recently been taking a closer look at migrants from countries where ISIS and its offshoot ISIS-K are active. These countries are primarily in Central Asia.

DHS has so far located and arrested 150 of the 400, detaining them on immigration violations. Some of those detained have already been deported. The agency has lost track of about 50 of them, and is working on rounding up others believed to be in 17 US states. So far, none of those identified or detained have been found to have been involved in any terror operations or other plots to harm Americans.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sources: Biden admin edges toward allowing US military contractors to fight in Ukraine

Sources have told CNN that the Biden administration is moving towards lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors fighting in Ukraine. The sources say that these contractors would primarily serve supporting rather than combat roles. This move comes weeks after Biden signed off on allowing Ukraine to use certain US-provided weapons systems to carry out attacks on Russian soil. Russia has characterized this as a major escalation and provocation in the over two-year-old war, and responded by signing a mutual defense pact by signing a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week.

Since the war began in February 2022, the Biden administration has continually walked back policies meant to prevent escalation. After initially saying the US would not send fighter jets to Ukraine, now several countries are expected to deliver dozens of US-made F-16s to Ukraine by the end of this year. The same was true of advanced tanks and other forms of weaponry which Biden at first demurred at sending.

However, no matter how much hardware we send, it’s become increasingly clear that Ukraine’s biggest problem is a lack of manpower. Since the war began, hundreds of thousands of military-aged Ukrainian men have fled the country. Others have paid off doctors to furnish them with a medical exemption. Ukraine has resorted to sending out conscription squads who essentially kidnap men from the street who have dodged conscription orders. Increasingly, these men have been middle-aged, many have mental or physical disabilities.

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