Quick Hit:

A Lebanese illegal migrant captured along the U.S. southern border has admitted to being a member of Hezbollah and expressed intentions to make a bomb in New York. Basel Bassel Ebbadi was apprehended by border patrol on March 9th near El Paso, Texas, and is now facing deportation.

Key Details:

• Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, was caught by border patrol on March 9th near El Paso, Texas.
• Ebbadi admitted to being a member of Hezbollah, having trained with them for seven years and served as an active member for another four years.
• He was placed into isolation and marked for deportation after making "terroristic threats to personnel."

Diving Deeper:

First reported by the New York Post, Basel Bassel Ebbadi, a 22-year-old Lebanese migrant, was apprehended by border patrol near El Paso, Texas, on March 9th. During his custody, Ebbadi admitted to being a member of Hezbollah, a militant group and political party based in Lebanon. He revealed that he had trained with the group for seven years and served as an active member for another four years, guarding weapons locations.

According to internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents and images obtained by the New York Post, Ebbadi's training focused on "jihad" and killing people "that were not Muslim."

Upon his capture, Ebbadi was found without any documents, claiming they were stolen "with a knife" while he was in Costa Rica. He also admitted to using a fake birthday and name in Sweden, Ecuador, and Panama. His initial plan was to go to New York and then move around the country.

Following his "terroristic threats to personnel," Ebbadi was immediately placed into isolation and referred for an interview with the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT). Internal documents indicate that he was marked for deportation from the US, although it remains unclear which country he would be returned to.

The apprehension of Ebbadi highlights the ongoing issue of illegal migrants with potential terror ties attempting to cross the border. According to federal data, border agents recorded 98 encounters of terror watchlisted individuals at both the northern and southern borders in fiscal year 2022, and almost twice as many, 172, in the 2023 fiscal year. In the first four months of 2024 alone, 59 people have been apprehended.