Smuggler with ISIS Ties Helped Refugees Cross US-Mexico Border

FILE PHOTO: Migrants stand beside a razor wire fence as members of the Texas National Guard stand guard on the banks of the Rio Bravo river, the border between the United States and Mexico, August 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Migrants stand beside a razor wire fence as members of the Texas National Guard stand guard on the banks of the Rio Bravo river, the border between the United States and Mexico, August 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
TT
20

Smuggler with ISIS Ties Helped Refugees Cross US-Mexico Border

FILE PHOTO: Migrants stand beside a razor wire fence as members of the Texas National Guard stand guard on the banks of the Rio Bravo river, the border between the United States and Mexico, August 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Migrants stand beside a razor wire fence as members of the Texas National Guard stand guard on the banks of the Rio Bravo river, the border between the United States and Mexico, August 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

A smuggler with ties to a foreign extremist group helped Uzbek migrants enter the US from Mexico, the White House said on Tuesday, raising questions about a potential security threat.

The smuggler was based in Türkiye and had links to ISIS, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. CNN first reported the incident.

Record numbers of migrants have crossed the US-Mexico border illegally since President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in 2021, including many from distant nations.

Republicans say Biden encouraged crossings by reversing tougher policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican. The Biden administration argues that it has instituted more humane policies as migration has challenged countries across the Western Hemisphere.

Of the nearly 2 million migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border between October 2022 and July 2023, 216 were on US watchlists for potential links to terrorism, according to US government statistics.

US intelligence officials discovered a smuggling network to bring Uzbeks into the country and a smuggler with ties to a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

US authorities have no indication that migrants aided by the smuggling network were tied to extremist groups or plotting terrorist attacks, Watson said.

Watson did not confirm links to ISIS specifically or that the smuggler was based in Türkiye.

Migrants who "fit the profile" of those assisted by the smugglers are being placed in rapid deportation proceedings and "thoroughly vetted," Watson said.
The US official said the FBI is trying to locate about 15 of roughly 120 Uzbek migrants who entered the US through legal border crossings via the network.

According to Reuters, an FBI spokesperson said the agency "has not identified a specific terrorism plot associated with foreign nationals who recently entered the United States at the southern border," and declined to comment on specifics.

US Customs and Border Protection encountered some 3,200 Uzbeks at US borders in fiscal year 2022, up from fewer than 700 a year earlier.



Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)

A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists left the Greek island of Syros Tuesday without its passengers disembarking, after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island’s port, unfurling Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

Carrying banners that read: “Stop the Genocide” and “No a/c in hell” — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip — the protesters chanted slogans on the dock near where the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, was docked on Tuesday, local media said. There were no reports of any violence.

The ship is operated by an Israeli company, Mano Cruise, which said about 1,700 passengers were on board and it is sailing to Cyprus.

Greece’s coast guard said the ship set sail at around 3 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled, but did not immediately have any further details.

“The management of Mano Cruise has decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination,” the company said in a press release. “All passengers and crew members are resting and spending time on the ship on their way to the new destination.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.