U.S. Border Patrol allowed a suspected terrorist, who was released after crossing the southern border, to remain in the country for nearly two weeks before authorizing his arrest.
The individual in question is Isnardo Garcia-Amado, a 35-year-old citizen of Colombia, who crossed into the U.S. on April 18 near Yuma, Ariz., Fox News reported. After crossing the border, per normal protocol, he was registered with U.S. Border Patrol, given a GPS tracking band, and released into the country with a date for a hearing before an immigration judge.
Three days later, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center flagged Garcia-Amado’s name after reviewing entry logs by U.S. Border Patrol. They determined that he was a match to an entry on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), the United States’ central database for listed terrorists. As of 2017, the TSDB contains the names of over 1.1 million persons, whose terrorist ties have not been updated. Under 5,000 U.S. citizens are also on the list.
Though the FBI flagged Garcia-Amado’s name on that date, April 21, ICE did not receive authorization to arrest him until May 4, a full 13 days after he had entered the U.S. He was found less than 48 hours later, in Pinellas County, Fla., on May 6. He is presently in ICE custody, awaiting deportation to Colombia.
In response to questions about the competence of U.S. Border Patrol for letting a terrorist into the country, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman told Fox News that “DHS is focused on those who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security.”
News of Garcia-Amado’s entry into the United States prompted outcry from Republican elected officials against the Biden administration, and a lambasting of his policies to ensure border security. Florida governor Ron DeSantis delivered a speech criticizing the Biden administration for letting a convicted terrorist into his state. Meanwhile, former acting director of ICE, Tom Horman, called the actions by the Department of Homeland Security “inexcusable.”
Garcia-Amado’s terrorist affiliation, if any, has not been made public. However, his native country of Colombia was embroiled in a long civil conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), government forces, and private militias for over 52 years, between 1964 and 2016. A peace agreement in 2016 ended the conflict and began a disarmament, de-integration, and rehabilitation (DDR) process for former combatants — a process that has been criticized both by former militia members and by the family members of soldiers and civilians killed by the militias.
Garcia-Amado is suspected to have been a “terrorist” member of anti-government groups in Colombia, of which three — the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, the FARC, and a breakaway faction — are listed as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” by the U.S. Department of State.