NBC: A Suspected ISIS Terrorist Illegally Crossed the Border in 2022, Then Was Released and Allowed to Live Freely in the U.S. for Nearly Two Years

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AINSLEY (voice-over): “Tonight among the record wave of migrants crossing the southern border a suspected ISIS member who lived freely in the U.S. for nearly two years, two U.S. officials tell NBC News. 30-three-year-old Javokhir Attoev of Uzbekistan crossed into Arizona and February 2022, where he was apprehended and vetted by both Customs and Border Protection and ICE. He was not on the U.S. terror watchlist and he was released into the U.S., two sources tell us. Then in May 2023 Uzbekistan put down an international alert, saying that Attoev was affiliated with ISIS and wanted there. But it took nearly a year for U.S. officials to figure out this suspected ISIS member was living freely here in the U.S..”
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AINSLEY (on camera): “U.S. officials tell us DHS made the alarming discovery after reviewing Attoev’s application for asylum. Shortly after DHS connected the dots ICE arrested him here in Baltimore, just two weeks ago.”
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AINSLEY (voice-over): “Former Homeland Security officials tell us his case raises red flags about the vetting process for migrants after they cross the border.”
AINSLEY (on camera): “Should alarm bells be going off here?”
NEUMANN: “We are in the midst of a really volatile threat environment. Anytime I see a gap in a system like we — we are seeing in this case, I do have concerns. Anytime you have just a massive volume of people, like we do, our systems are overwhelmed and we need more resources at the southern border to properly protect the homeland.”
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