Texas Department of Public Safety arrested the 29-year-old man on the terror watchlist after they found him being smuggled in the trunk of a car with 4 other illegal migrants.
Last week when he was apprehended, Alireza Heidari, 29, told law enforcement that he was from Turkey, but he was holding an Iranian passport.
When Border Patrol arrived at the scene and conducted a background check, they found that both his name and his date of birth were included on the FBI terror watchlist.
[CLICK TO BROWSE]Texas law enforcement arrested an Iranian illegal immigrant at the southern border whose name and date of birth subsequently turned out to be a match on the FBI’s terror watch list, Fox News has learned.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) arrested 29-year-old Alireza Heidari last week after a traffic stop involving a human smuggler at the border in Val Verde County, Texas as part of Operation Lone Star.
Heidari was being smuggled in the vehicle along with four other illegal immigrants. He was located in the trunk. Fox is told that Heidari was handed over to Border Patrol custody and later determined to be a match of the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB)
Source: Fox News
Fox News Border Correspondent Bill Melugin first reported the story.
I’m told his name & DOB both matched the watchlist. I first reached out to DHS & ICE requesting comment on this last Thursday. After 5 days, and multiple requests for comment, I was referred to the FBI. The FBI tells me they “decline to comment”.
ARTICLE: https://t.co/4SCaFYY32F— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 1, 2023
In his Twitter thread, Melugin posted an exclusive video of the traffic stop on Twitter.
Here is @TxDPS video of the traffic stop that led to the arrest. It’s important to point out that this Iranian national had already evaded Border Patrol and had gotten into the US as a gotaway. He was caught by Texas law enforcement as part of Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. pic.twitter.com/QcwRl3pKAw
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 1, 2023
Melugin also appeared on America’s Newsroom on Wednesday morning to discuss the incident.
Our live report this morning on @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/75sC5rnFWX
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 1, 2023
The Biden admin remains tight-lipped about the case and it’s no wonder — Heidari was only apprehended because of Texas DPS and Operation Lone Star.
National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd noted that it was Texas DPS, not Border Patrol, that ultimately apprehended Heidari.
“If not for the work of Governor Abbott and Texas DPS, Alireza Heidari would be at large on our streets today and looking to do harm to the US and our fellow citizens,” Judd said. “Heidari entered the country illegally and evaded apprehension by the Border Patrol. It fell to Texas DPS to do our job because [President] Biden continues to play politics with the safety and security of our children, friends and neighbors. What Biden is doing is dangerous and the capture of Heidari by a non-federal law enforcement agency is the most recent proof.”
Source: Fox News
According to Melugin’s report, the apprehension of Heidari is the 38th individual on the terror watchlist to be apprehended between ports of entry at the Southern Border since the beginning of the fiscal year that began on October 1, 2022.
The FBI terror watchlist is a database of known or suspected terrorists and the reason why Heidari has been included on that list is still unclear.
The number of individuals on the terror watchlist apprehended at the Southern Border between ports of entry has increased dramatically since Biden took office. In FY2022, there were 98 terror watch list arrests, which was a stark rise from 15 in FY2021, which in turn was a steep increase of just three the year before. And those numbers don’t include the got-aways
Biden’s Broken Border is a national security threat and it doesn’t look like anyone in this administration — not the President, VP Kamala Harris who is still searching for “root causes” as “Border Czar”, nor Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — wants to secure the border in any way shape or form.
The only solution that they seem to have is amnesty for millions who entered illegally — the Libs use the benign-sounding phrase “a pathway to citizenship” to describe this policy.
Yo, VP Harris… I think I just figured out the major “root cause” of illegal immigration… it’s your administration’s border policy.
Sources:
1. Melugin, Bill, and Adam Shaw. “Iranian illegal immigrant on terror watch list caught near southern border: sources.” Fox News. February 1, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/iranian-illegal-immigrant-terror-watch-list-caught-southern-border-sources
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