Members of two Syrian families have turned themselves in to U.S. authorities in Laredo, Texas, at the Mexican border, and were being processed by immigration officials, U.S. Homeland Security officials said on Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said two men, two women and four children "presented themselves" on Tuesday at the port of entry and were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents, before being turned over to immigration officials for processing.
"Due to privacy issues, no additional information will be provided at this time," DHS said in a statement.
The women and children were taken to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, DHS said, while the two men were held at the South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall.
Security concerns over Syrian refugees seeking to enter the United States have intensified since the deadly Paris bombings last week claimed by Islamic State militants. There have been concerns one of the attackers may have arrived in Europe from Syria using a faked Syrian passport. Still, there was no indication the families were trying to sneak into the country.
Separately, Honduran authorities said on Wednesday they had intercepted six Syrians traveling with doctored Greek passports over the past week, including five who were trying to reach the United States. Police there said there were no signs of extremist links. The original photos on the passports were said to have been replaced with those of the Syrians.
Syrians were also detained over the weekend in the former Dutch Caribbean colony of St Maarten and in Paraguay.
Tens of thousands of Syrians, fleeing more than four years of civil war, have flocked to the West, but the presence of the Islamic State militant group in their country has jeopardized the refugees' prospects of settling elsewhere.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, who has adopted a tough stance on immigration, said in a post on Twitter: "Eight Syrians were just caught on the southern border trying to get into the U.S. ISIS maybe? I told you so. WE NEED A BIG & BEAUTIFUL WALL!"