Southwest
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fence-cutting migrants busted by feds
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. — Multiple groups of illegal immigrants, including one group who sliced open border fencing to enter deeper into the U.S., were stopped by Border Patrol agents last week, as officials are drawing on more resources and tools to prevent them from fleeing into the U.S.
Fox News Digital was on the ground in the El Paso Sector, as Border Patrol agents on an early morning patrol caught multiple groups of illegal immigrants moving into the U.S.
One group, consisting mostly of Ecuadorians, was caught down a main road from the bollard border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico. The group were checked, given water, made to take off shoelaces and hand over their belongings, before being put into a transport van to the local Border Patrol station.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
April 12, 2024: Migrants are apprehended near the border in New Mexico. (Fox News)
There, they will be subject to Title 8 removal proceedings, which could include a quick return to their country of origin via expedited removal, or it could mean entry into the United States as they await their immigration removal proceedings and a court hearing.
In another section near the port of entry, agents nabbed a group of migrants from Ecuador, Bolivia and Guatemala who had cut a hole in the border fence, but had been stopped by agents just feet from the hole. The fencing is, in some areas, reinforced by bollards, which in turn are sometimes filled with concrete in an effort to make cutting them harder. The group included two small children.
Agents have also found makeshift ladders and rope discarded near parts of the wall that are harder to cut through.
SPIKE IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM THIS US ADVERSARY BLOWS LID OFF PREVIOUS YEAR’S RECORD
It’s an area where smugglers have operated for years and they are notoriously vicious. They will leave migrants behind if they get injured, or send them across, knowing that they are in danger to the elements. This was the area where, in 2021, smugglers heartlessly abandoned a five-year-old and three-year-old girl, dropping them over the fence before they were rescued by agents.
Border Patrol Agent Claudio Herrera told Fox News Digital that there were nearly 600 rescues of distressed migrants in FY 23, and so far in FY 24 there have been more than 320.
Migrants are apprehended near the border wall in New Mexico in this April 12, 2024, photo.
“Unfortunately, we have seen in the past how these transnational criminal organizations stash these migrants south of the border. And they don’t give them food or enough water. By the time they’re already arrived at our borders, they’re already dehydrated,” he said.
During some migrant surges, majorities of illegal immigrants have been turning themselves in the hope of being released. Here, that isn’t the case. One agent told Fox that the vast majority of encounters (as high as 95%) are migrants who are trying to evade Border Patrol rather than giving themselves up, suggesting that they’ve been briefed by smugglers that their chances of being returned are high.
Apprehensions in the sector are down sharply from last year. There were 427,471 in FY 23 by Border Patrol. So far in FY 24, which began in October, there have been just over 150,000. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) puts that decrease in part due to a multi-layered enforcement strategy that combines existing barriers, technology including autonomous surveillance towers, K-9 units and recent cooperation with state police to stop illegal entrants.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: CROWDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CUT RAZOR WIRE, RUSH ACROSS BORDER INTO TEXAS
“We are doing a fantastic job interdicting these individuals from smuggling schemes, in vehicles or also in the stash houses. We also have our checkpoints. We also have canines. We also have horse patrol, ATVs, you name it. We have all these different assets that help us do our job better,” Herrera said.
Elsewhere in the sector, Texas has also fortified existing barriers with extra layers of razor wire, a move that has led to a legal battle with the federal government.
But looming over the Sunland Park area is Mount Cristo Rey, where there can be no border barriers, due to the jagged terrain, and small white obelisks mark where the U.S. ends and Mexico begins. It’s a perilous area for migrants and agents alike.
Migrant scout oversees the border area near Mexico in this April 12, 2024, photo. (Fox News)
Agents with whom Fox was embedded spotted a helicopter from CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) flying low over the mountain’s border with Mexico, and followed up the ominous mountain, where cartel scouts were situated just on the Mexican side. A group of adult male migrants whom they were overseeing, but who had not yet reached the U.S., quickly turned back upon seeing the agents.
But the scouts remained just feet from the border, gesturing vulgarly at the agents and filming them and Fox’s reporter. The Border Patrol vehicle headed up the mountain and later returned, at which point the scouts had inched across into the U.S. side, but fled back over to the Mexican side when they saw the vehicle.
For the agents though, they don’t need to spend much time up in the mountains. With the extra levels of surveillance, including the autonomous surveillance towers that use AI to track and identify migrants, agents can track any migrants clambering across the mountain and wait for them at the bottom when they come down and have tired themselves out.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
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