More than one and a half thousand citizens of Tajikistan crossed the border between the USA and Mexico in the last three years

From October 2020 to May 2024, more than 1,500 migrants from Tajikistan crossed the US-Mexico border, reports gbnews.com.

It is noted that a leak of documents revealed that this year authorities caught at least 500 Tajiks. There is currently no data on how many Tajik migrants have been allowed into the US. The vast majority of them were caught while attempting to seek asylum and enter America pending a court hearing.

At the same time, US authorities are concerned that terrorists may enter the country disguised as migrants.

Former counter-terrorism officer Javed Ali stated that the increase in Tajik citizens could include the “infiltration into the United States” of ISIS members preparing for a possible attack.

Earlier, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested eight men from Tajikistan in Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles who have potential links to ISIS. According to sources, these individuals came to the attention of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force due to their potential connections to ISIS.

“In recent days, ICE agents have arrested several non-citizens at the request of immigration authorities,” said a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

Border officials in California were previously ordered to immediately deport illegal adult migrants from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Georgia, and Moldova. Other illegal border crossers may be released with a court appointment in the US, but they will not be able to apply for asylum, the document states.

It is worth noting that earlier, Montana Senator Steve Daines stated at a press conference, citing a “high-ranking official,” that in 2023, more than 50,000 individuals from Central Asia illegally crossed the US border. At that time, it was announced that authorities were concerned about the influx of migrants and feared that they could be “part of sleeper cells for a terrorist attack on the US.”

Tajikistan is economically heavily dependent on labor migration. According to various estimates, between one to two million Tajiks live in Russia.

However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, life in that country has become more difficult, and Tajik migrants have begun to seek new migration routes. They are increasingly choosing Europe, the Persian Gulf countries, and the US as alternative places for residence and work.

According to the non-profit organization Transaction Records Analysis Center, which tracks asylum court hearings in the US, as of March this year, at least 40,000 citizens from Central Asia are awaiting hearings in such cases. Of these, 17,000 are citizens of Uzbekistan, 7,000 from Kyrgyzstan, 3,000 from Tajikistan, 2,700 from Kazakhstan, and 2,000 from Turkmenistan.