The US Department of Homeland Security is investigating a cross-border group that smuggled more than 400 migrants into the country in connection with ISIS, CNN reported.
Officials said the group claimed it was smuggling migrants into the country, not terrorists. However, another criminal organization related to this group was “blacklisted” last summer due to its links with ISIS. This led to all those associated being added to the list of suspects.
It has been confirmed that the group being investigated for its ties to ISIS, brought more than 400 people to the United States. The majority were citizens of Central Asia, and particularly, Uzbekistan.
In a press report issued on June 26, Secretary of Internal Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas stated that no evidence had been found regarding connections between the 400 migrants and ISIS. However, it was noted that the group that brought them into the country may have provided indirect support to the terrorist organization.
Over the past month, the United States has intensified checks on immigrants from Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In recent raids, eight citizens of Tajikistan were arrested on suspicion of being connected to terrorist groups. The state leadership has been tasked to determine whether citizens of Uzbekistan are associated with criminal groups.
