A new report claims that an illegal immigrant arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents on the southern border admitted to being a Hezbollah terrorist and said he was “going to try to make a bomb” while in the United States.
According to a Border Patrol document obtained by The New York Post, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Basel Bassel Ebbadi near El Paso, Texas, on March 9. An internal Border Patrol document labeled the 22-year-old Lebanese national’s capture as a “Significant Arrest.”
“El Paso Sector Intelligence Agents assigned to the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) interviewed Basel Bassel EBBADI from Lebanon after he made terroristic threats to personnel at the EP Sector Hardened Facility,” the internal document stated. “Post Miranda, Basel Bassel EBBADI claimed membership to a foreign terrorist organization.”
According to Border Patrol documents, during an evaluation by medical staff two days after he was arrested at the southern border, Ebbadi was asked what he was doing inside the United States. In response, the illegal immigrant said, “I’m going to try to make a bomb.”
READ MORE: Video: ‘ISIS’ tied to human smuggling at U.S-Mexico border, FBI director warns
The documents obtained by The New York Post indicate that Ebbadi told U.S. officials that he had previously been trained by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization located in Lebanon. After training with Hezbollah for seven years, Ebbadi was reportedly an active member of the terrorist organization for four years and was responsible for guarding weapons.
The illegal immigrant also reportedly told U.S. officials that his training with Hezbollah concentrated on “jihad” and killing people “that was not Muslim.” Ebbadi explained that he was initially planning to travel to New York before moving throughout the United States.
The New York Post reported that internal documents indicated that Ebbadi was scheduled to be deported from the United States; however, the internal documents did not list which country the illegal immigrant would be sent back to.
The New York Post’s report regarding the alleged terrorist threat has generated significant criticism against President Joe Biden’s administration by Republican leaders. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) shared the New York Post’s picture of Ebbadi and claimed that the Biden administration’s “open border is an open invitation for Iran-backed terrorists to infiltrate our homeland.”
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) wrote, “Illegal migrant from Lebanon caught at border admitted he’s a Hezbollah terrorist hoping ‘to make a bomb’ Joe Biden’s open border policies are a magnet for this type of terror. America cannot survive another four years of Biden’s deadly policies.”
Additionally, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) warned, “Biden’s open border is enabling terrorist threats to our nation.”
