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Tags: mexican | passports | middle eastern | names | dhs | ntc | migrants

Feds Probe Nearly 30K Mexican Passport Holders With Middle Eastern Names

migrants illegally crossing the rio grande river in eagle pass, texas
Migrants illegally cross the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 22. (Getty Images)

By    |   Wednesday, 31 August 2022 10:51 AM EDT

A "high number" of people with Middle Eastern names are traveling with Mexican passports, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo.

The Washington Free Beacon obtained a copy of the DHS memo that said nearly 30,000 such individuals were identified by federal law enforcement officials since the beginning of 2022.

The Mexican passport holders were flagged as part of a probe into passport fraud, and each identified individual will be further evaluated, the Free Beacon reported.

A senior DHS official told the outlet that the agency likely will investigate whether any of the individuals traveled to the U.S., and whether there are patterns in their travel.

"This investigation highlights that criminals often use legal travel to facilitate criminal activity," the official told the Free Beacon. "The nexus to Mexico should cause the public and lawmakers to reflect on how a porous border can be even more dangerous."

The DHS memo stated that the department's National Targeting Center (NTC), created shortly after the 9/11 attacks, identified the passports.

"Since 2001, CBP's National Targeting Center in Sterling, Virginia, has worked nonstop to catch travelers and detect cargo that threaten our country's security," the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website says.

"At the same time, the center is working just as hard to build a network of partner nations committed to fighting global threats. Increased targeting by all partners increases security for all is the concept."

The focus on passport fraud comes as migrants continue to surge at the U.S.-Mexico border.

CBP reported that 199,976 migrants were encountered at the southern border in July, barely short of 200,000, which occurred the previous four months.

The high number of migrants made it difficult for Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies to properly vet those who are entering the country.

"There are fears that terror groups such as al-Qaida could take advantage of the strained immigration system," the Free Beacon said. "Last April, for example, two Yemeni nationals on the terrorist watch list were apprehended at the southern border."

Also, about 20 million Mexican citizens annually travel to the U.S. as tourists each year, the U.S. Travel Association reported.

FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier this month said that the southern border crisis "represents a significant security issue and represents a wide array of criminal threats that flow out of it."

"Any port of entry, any potential vulnerability is something we know foreign terrorist organizations and others will seek to exploit," Wray said while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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A "high number" of people with Middle Eastern names are traveling with Mexican passports, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo.
mexican, passports, middle eastern, names, dhs, ntc, migrants
417
2022-51-31
Wednesday, 31 August 2022 10:51 AM
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