A suspected Islamic State terrorist living in Baltimore who was recently arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been in the U.S. for two years after being caught crossing the southern border and then released.
When Jovokhir Attoev of Uzbekistan was caught by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) crossing the border in Arizona in February 2022, CBP and ICE couldn't find any incriminating information on him, NBC News reported Wednesday, and he was released within the U.S. on bond.
In May 2023, Uzbekistan issued an international alert that Attoev was wanted in his home country for suspected ties to ISIS, but it wasn't initially checked against the list of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. and awaiting court hearings.
In March, when the Biden administration was reviewing Attoev's application for asylum, officials discovered the Uzbekistan notice and connected it to him, NBC News reported. ICE arrested Attoev on April 17, and he is in custody in Pennsylvania awaiting trial next week in New Jersey immigration court.
The case raises concerns about how quickly and frequently the U.S. follows up on vetting illegal immigrants who have already crossed the border, said multiple former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials interviewed by NBC News.
Multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News that the U.S. has not definitively determined whether Attoev is a part of ISIS or if he ever conducted or planned to conduct an attack. DHS continues to seek information and is questioning him further while he is in detention, the officials said.
In a statement to NBC News, a DHS spokesperson said: "DHS screens and vets individuals seeking to enter the United States to identify national security or public safety threats and takes appropriate action, to include preventing an individual from entering the country. Screening and vetting evaluates information available to the U.S. Government at that time.
"If individuals who have entered the country are later found to be associated with information indicating a potential national security or public safety concern, DHS and our federal partners investigate and we detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting and prosecution as appropriate. In this case, the individual is in U.S. custody and there is no threat to public safety."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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