An illegal migrant who was busted while attempting to sneak across the border reportedly admitted to being a member of Hezbollah and having the intent to “make a bomb.”
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, a 22-year-old Lebanese migrant, was caught sneaking across the border near El Paso, Texas, last week, telling agents who questioned him that his ultimate destination was New York and that he intended to “try to make a bomb” once safely at his destination, according to a New York Post report.
Further interviews of Ebbadi revealed that he had trained with Hezbollah for seven years and also served as an active member tasked with guarding weapons for another four years, according to the report. His training with the group was focused on “jihad” and “killing people that was not Muslim,” he reportedly told investigators.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent stands on a cliff looking for migrants who crossed the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico near Sasabe, Arizona. (Salwan Georges/Washington Post via Getty Images)
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group that has launched attacks in Israel, including recent strikes on the country in the aftermath of October’s Hamas terrorist attack and subsequent invasion of Gaza by Israel.
But Ebbadi apparently told investigators he had interest in leaving the group because he “didn’t want to kill people,” though he added that “once you’re in, you can never get out.”
Nevertheless, Ebadi was placed into isolation and referred to the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) after allegedly making “terroristic threats to personnel.”
Documents obtained by the New York Post showed that he was marked for deportation from the U.S., though it was unknown what country he would be returned to.
A cloned U.S. Border Patrol vehicle was seized south of the border by Mexican authorities after agents saw suspicious activity nearby. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
BORDER OFFICIALS SEE MASSIVE NEW SURGE AT SOUTHERN BORDER
According to the report, border agents encountered 98 individuals who were on a terror watchlist in fiscal 2022, a number that jumped to 172 in 2023. In the first four months of fiscal 2024, border agents have encountered 59 such individuals.
The security situation at the border has been the subject of an ongoing battle between lawmakers in Washington, with House Republicans laying the blame on the Biden administration and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the chaos. Meanwhile, the White House has pointed to its failed attempt to support bipartisan border legislation that it argued would have helped alleviate the crisis.
A view of the border in El Paso, Texas (Kelly Laco/Fox News Digital)
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Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Projection data shows fiscal 2024 border encounters continue to top recent highs, peaking at almost 302,000 in December. That number was nearly 70,000 greater than the previous year’s mark, which was already higher than the roughly 180,000 encounters in 2022 and 74,000 that were seen during December 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border protection did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.