EL PASO, Texas – An illegal immigrant who originated from Lebanon was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on March 9 in Texas. During questioning, he reportedly acknowledged being a member of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and planned to make a bomb with aspirations to travel to New York City.
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, told CBP, “I’m going try to make a bomb” when asked what he was doing in the US, according to a document obtained by the New York Post.
ICE documents revealed the man also said in a separate interview that he trained with Hezbollah for seven years, and focused on “jihad” and killing non-muslims. Once his training was complete, he served four years with the organization as a guard at weapons locations.
A Border Patrol memo obtained by the New York Post. (Customs and Border Protection)
During subsequent questioning, Ebbadi claimed that he fled his home country for the US since he “didn’t want to kill people” but “once you’re in, you can never get out.”
The Tactical Terrorism Response Team, (TTRT) took custody of the man, and he was scheduled to be deported, the Post Millennial reported.
Between October 2023 and February 2024, federal agents caught 59 people trying to cross illegally into the US who were on the terrorist watchlist, according to the CBP website,
In Fiscal year 2023, CBP agents caught 172 people on the watchlist.
