Articles by Julia Ainsley

Immigration

ISIS-K behind foiled Election Day terrorism plot, U.S. officials say Charging documents said the suspect told the FBI that he was communicating with a person named 'Malik' and that he knew 'Malik' was affiliated with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State.

October 15, 2024 , and   

(NBC) ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, directed an Afghan man’s foiled U.S. Election Day terror plot, according to two senior U.S. officials briefed on the matter. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested by the FBI last week in Oklahoma […]

Immigration

DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network Over 150 have been arrested, but the whereabouts of over 50 remain unknown, officials said. ICE is looking to arrest them on immigration charges when they are found.

June 25, 2024 and   

(NBC) The Department of Homeland Security has identified over 400 immigrants from Central Asia and elsewhere who crossed into the U.S. in the past three years as “subjects of concern” because they were brought by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network, three U.S. officials […]

Immigration

8 suspected terrorists with possible ISIS ties arrested in New York, L.A. and Philadelphia, sources say The men from Tajikistan came to the U.S. through the southern border and their criminal [background] checks came back clean at the time they crossed, officials familiar with the matter said.

June 11, 2024 , , and   

(NBC) Eight men from Tajikistan with potential ties to ISIS out of central Asia were arrested over the weekend in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News on Tuesday. The suspects had been on the […]

Government & Politics

Biden administration tries to plug loophole that released migrant linked to terrorism into the U.S. The change in policy follows an NBC News story that revealed a judge released the man on bond when ICE prosecutors could not show the judge classified evidence of terror ties.

May 28, 2024   

(NBC) The Biden administration is giving immigration judges and asylum officers more access to classified information to help them determine which migrants might have ties to terrorism or pose a threat to public safety. The change in policy follows an April 11 […]

Immigration

Migrant with alleged ISIS ties was living in the U.S. for more than two years, officials say Jovokhir Attoev was released inside the U.S. in 2022. A year later, Uzbekistan put out a global notice that he was wanted for alleged ISIS ties. U.S. officials didn't arrest him until this year.

May 1, 2024   

(NBC) Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently arrested an Uzbek man in Baltimore with alleged ISIS ties after he had been living inside the United States for over two years, according to two U.S. officials. The man, 33-year-old Jovokhir Attoev, crossed the border […]

Immigration

Man on terrorist watchlist was dropped from program that monitors migrants The Afghan national was enrolled in Alternatives to Detention, which tracks migrants' locations via ankle monitor, mobile app or phone. It didn’t last long, NBC News has learned.

April 17, 2024   

(NBC) When an Afghan national on the FBI terrorist watchlist was arrested last Thursday after having spent nearly a year in the U.S., immigration officials said he had been enrolled in a program that tracked his location via ankle monitor, mobile app or telephone. But […]

Immigration

Man on terror watchlist was released by Border Patrol With border security funding blocked in Congress, the case illustrates the challenges U.S. officials face in identifying migrants who may pose national security threats.

April 11, 2024 , and   

(NBC) An Afghan migrant on the terrorist watchlist spent nearly a year inside the U.S. after he was apprehended and released by Border Patrol agents last year, U.S. officials told NBC News. The man was arrested in February and then released last […]

Government & Politics

Number of people on terrorist watchlist stopped at southern U.S. border has risen So far in fiscal year 2023, 160 migrants whose identities match those on the list have been stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, compared to 100 in 2022.

September 14, 2023   

(NBC) This year U.S. border agents have encountered a “growing number of individuals” on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist trying to enter the country via the southern border, according to the Homeland Threat Assessment released Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security. As […]

Clerics & Preachers

To ease Turkish pressure on Saudis over killing, White House weighs expelling Erdogan foe 'Once they realized it was a serious request, the career guys were furious,' a U.S. official said of request tied to Khashoggi killing.

November 15, 2018 , and   

(NBC) The White House is looking for ways to remove an enemy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. in order to placate Turkey over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to two senior U.S. officials and two other people […]