Suspected terrorist arrested by federal agents at northern US border

A Jordanian migrant with alleged ties to terrorism is now in custody after he illegally entered the United States. In November 2024, Mohammad Hasan Abdellatif Albana, 41, was caught in Lynden, Washington, near the U.S.-Canadian border, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Albana was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol after he entered without being inspected, admitted or paroled by immigration authorities.

Authorities are not sure where or when Albana entered the country. An immigration official in the U.S. later identified Albana as a suspected terrorist.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) said he was removed on Nov. 15. Albana went through immigration proceedings in front of a federal judge before being sent back to Jordan.

The ICE ERO Seattle Field Office Director, Drew H. Bostock, said federal officers are working to protect communities in the Pacific Northwest.

“ERO is committed to the removal of noncitizens who pose a risk to the national security of the U.S.”

ERO statement by Seattle Field Office Director Drew H. Bostock

Federal data shows so far, in fiscal year 2024, Customs and Border Protection officers arrested more than 400 migrants on the terrorist watchlist at the northern and southern U.S. border.

In fiscal year 2023, 564 individuals were arrested, while 380 were arrested in fiscal year 2022. The agency has said that encountering individuals on the watchlist is still considered “uncommon.”