On Thursday, the FBI arrested two Muslim men on terrorism charges in California and Texas. Both suspects are Muslim refugees from Iraq.
“A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday accuses Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, of traveling to Syria to fight alongside terrorist organizations and lying to investigators about it,” reports The Blaze. “The complaint said Al-Jayab, a Palestinian born in Iraq who came to the United States as an Iraqi refugee in October 2012, communicated on social media about his intent to return to Syria to fight for terrorist organizations, discussing his previous experience fighting against the regime in Syria. When he was interviewed by citizenship officials, he lied about his travels and ties, the complaint alleges.”
Al-Jayab resided in California. Federal law enforcement authorities detained the suspect on Thursday morning in Sacramento. Later Thursday, federal officials confirmed that they had arrested three of al-Jayab’s relatives in Milwaukee, though they said the cause was not national security-related.
“This is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
The second suspect, Omar Faraj Saeed al-Hardan, 24, was arrested under similar circumstances in Texas. Al-Hardan is accused of providing material support to Islamic State, reports Reuters. He gained entrance into the U.S. as a refugee in November 2009, becoming a legal resident in 2011. According to a court document, Al-Hardan was living Houston.
The indictment accuses al-Hardan of “unlawfully and knowingly attempt[ing] to provide material support and resources … training, expert advice and assistance, to a foreign terrorist organization, namely the Islamic State of Iraq.” Al-Hardan is accused of hiding his association with ISIS on his citizenship application and lying to immigration authorities about receiving machine gun training.
The latest developments lend credence to the theory that Muslim refugees from war-torn and terror-ridden Islamic countries pose a threat to national security.
In the wake of the arrests, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott reiterated his opposition tp the Obama administration’s proposal to resettle around 10,000 Syrian refugees in the American heartland against the wishes of many governors across the country.
“This is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “I once again urge the President to halt the resettlement of these refugees in the United States until there is an effective vetting process that will ensure refugees do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans.”
For months now, Republican governors, and even a few Democrats, from coast to coast vocalized grave concerns about the potential threats that Muslim refugees may pose to American citizens.
Image (AP): “Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, left, is escorted by U.S. Marshals from the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, in Houston. Al Hardan made his initial appearance in federal court in Houston Friday morning after he was indicted Wednesday on three charges related to accusations he tried to provide material support to the Islamic State group.”