Federal authorities removed an Iranian national with ties to terrorism after he tried to enter the U.S. twice via the northern border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Thursday.
ICE removed the Iranian national to Canada, where he is a permanent resident and is wanted for assault charges, on Dec. 21, according to ICE. He first tried to enter the country through the Rainbow Bridge Pedestrian Walkway in Niagara Fall on Oct. 10, where he was refused entry and returned to Canadian authorities.
Two days later, Border Patrol arrested the Iranian man after he illegally crossed the northern border, according to ICE.
“The strong law enforcement partnership between ERO Buffalo and Canadian law enforcement authorities is imperative to increasing national security and preventing dangerous individuals from fleeing justice,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations [ERO] Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas Brophy said in a statement.
“The Canadian resident’s return to Canada to face charges is due to the dedicated officers on both sides of the border, working in tandem, to provide public safety for our communities,” Brophy said.
With a surge in migrant encounters at both the northern and southern border in recent years, federal officers at the ports of entry at both borders nabbed 564 individuals whose names appeared on the terror watchlist, while Border Patrol recorded 172 crossing illegally, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
Border Patrol recorded 30 encounters of illegal migrants on the terror watchlist between fiscal years 2017 to 2021, according to the data. In fiscal year 2022 alone there were 98.
Federal authorities have already recorded 49 encounters of such individuals at ports of entry in October and November and 31 crossing illegally, according to CBP.
Jennie Taeron December 29, 2023
