Note: Twitchy incorrectly relied on news alerts that described Pakistan and Afghanistan as Middle Eastern. We apologize sincerely for the error and have edited our headline to avoid confusion.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appeared to confirm via a tweet this morning that eight Syrian illegal aliens attempted to enter Texas from Mexico in the Laredo Sector on Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security later provided a detail-free update, confirming that “members of two Syrian families, two men, two women and four children, presented themselves at a port of entry in Laredo. They were taken into custody by CBP and turned over to ICE for further processing.”
As if to prove the point that America’s southern border is not exclusive to Mexican illegals, the U.S. Border Patrol confirmed today that five men from Pakistan and one from Afghanistan were detained along the Arizona border today.
6 Middle Eastern men caught along #Arizona's #border. Details on their nationality and who they were with coming up at 5 and 6 on #abc15
— Navideh Forghani (@vidatravelz) November 19, 2015
Could the terror threat along Arizona's border be real? https://t.co/wg9c6iJ89o
— Navideh Forghani (@vidatravelz) November 19, 2015
Reporter Navideh Forghani says that all six men are members of what the Border Patrol calls “special interest groups”: Five of the men are Pakistani, and one is from Afghanistan.
#BREAKING: Border Patrol detains 6 Middle Eastern men along Arizona border https://t.co/9hDDLJbzK3 #abc15 pic.twitter.com/OPfMF67LJ0
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) November 19, 2015
FBI spokesman Kurt Remis told ABC 15 that the six men were being smuggled into the country by “some Mexican Nationals.” Two smugglers were arrested and the six men taken into federal custody.
Twitchy will update this post as details become available.