Iranian Nationals Attempting Illegal Border Crossings with Cartel Assistance

Border Security Alert

• 🚨 U.S. border security officials are on high alert due to intelligence suggesting Iranian nationals are attempting to enter the country with the help of Mexican drug cartels.
• 🎯 Internal documents obtained by NewsNation indicate that Border Patrol received intel about 35 Iranian nationals planning an illegal border crossing.
• ⚠️ Cartels such as Cartel Halisco, Nova, and Los Salazar may be involved in smuggling this group into the United States, with a threat window extending through Saturday.

Growing National Security Concerns

• 📈 Officials are concerned about state sponsors or actors utilizing cartel routes to reach the U.S., indicating a "new era of border threats."
• ✈️ Agents have been advised to stay on high alert, as this group may be part of a broader network.
• 🗓️ The alert comes just one week after a separate memo warned that the threat of Iranian sleeper cells within the U.S. has never been higher, urging agents not to travel alone.

ICE Arrests and Terrorist Ties

• 🚓 In the past week, ICE arrested 11 Iranian nationals living illegally in the U.S.
• 🔗 At least three of those individuals admitted to having ties to a foreign terrorist organization.
• 🪖 Specific admissions included one individual being a former Iranian army sniper, another part of Iran's revolutionary guard corps, and a third linked to the terror group Hezbollah.

Visa Loopholes and Special Interest Aliens

• 🚪 The Department of Homeland Security confirmed some individuals entered through visa and parole loopholes under the Biden administration, with some having final deportation orders for years.
• 🇺🇸 ICE also arrested a U.S. citizen for harboring a fugitive and allegedly threatening agents.
• 🌍 Since January 2021, Border Patrol has encountered over 2,500 Iranian nationals at the southern border, including hundreds labeled as special interest aliens due to national security concerns.