Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI arrested a suspected member of Al Qaeda who was paroled into the United States by the Biden administration in 2023.
The two federal law enforcement agencies arrested the 39-year-old Tajikistan-born Russian national in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 23 — shortly after Tajikistan declared that the man is a fugitive wanted for ties to a criminal organization.
“Arresting individuals linked to terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda reaffirms our unwavering commitment to safeguard the homeland,” Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia acting Field Office Director Brian McShane explained in a statement. “Through close collaboration with our outstanding partners at the FBI, we have taken decisive action to make our communities safer and prevent potential threats to the American people.”
“I commend the dedicated men and women of ICE and the FBI for their tireless efforts and steadfast resolve in protecting this great nation,” McShane went on to say.
ICE says that the suspected Al Qaeda member entered the United States by way of California in 2023. Though the man did not have an immigrant visa and was charged as an inadmissible alien, he was paroled into the country and given a notice to appear in front of an immigration judge.
The Russian national is now in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.
The arrest by ICE and the FBI came just ahead of a firebombing terror attack on a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, by Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian illegal alien. Soliman was granted work authorization by the Biden administration but overstayed his visa.
The illegal alien, who attempted to buy a firearm but could not due to his immigration status, sent multiple people to the hospital after he “used a makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd,” according to police. Soliman faces 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, along with charges for assault and possession of incendiary devices, and could be sentenced to 624 years in prison.
ICE swiftly gained custody of the Egyptian illegal alien, his wife, and their five children.