Border Patrol released suspected terrorist who crossed into U.S. illegally, ICE took weeks to rearrest him

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t rearrest a suspected terrorist who was released into the United States by Border Patrol agents until two weeks after he was flagged by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

The suspected terrorist, Isnardo Garcia-Amado, 35, was released into the United States by Border Patrol agents on April 18 near Yuma, Arizona, and given a GPS monitoring device as an alternative to detention, according to a memo from a federal source obtained by Fox News. 

Garcia-Amado, a Colombian citizen, was then flagged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Center on April 21, which determined he is a match on the terror watch list. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t receive authorization to arrest the individual until May 4, and he was arrested in Pinellas County, Florida, on May 6.

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He was released from the Pinellas County jail and transferred to ICE custody on May 9, according to the memo.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News that after receiving additional information about Garcia-Amado, the man was “promptly detained.”

“In this instance, after receiving additional law enforcement information, ICE, in coordination with federal and local law enforcement, promptly detained this individual, who was already under supervision via a Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring device,” the spokesperson said. “Noncitizens encountered in the United States without authorization undergo multi-layered screening and vetting. Our immigration enforcement priorities are clear: DHS is focused on those who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security. When we receive additional derogatory information from our law enforcement partners, DHS and our federal partners take swift action to apprehend those individuals.”

The spokesperson added that Garcia-Amado is in ICE custody pending the disposition of his immigration case.

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Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News that he is demanding an explanation of why a suspected terrorist was allowed to live in the United States for weeks.

“The State of Florida has consistently addressed the Biden Administration for information on illegal alien resettlement in Florida, which the federal government has declined to provide,” DeSantis said. “We demand to know why DHS released a suspected terrorist into the United States and allowed him to live freely in Florida for weeks. How many more known or suspected terrorists has the Biden administration allowed into our country?”

Tom Homan, former acting ICE director, said that under his watch the individual would have been arrested within an hour. He called the actions by the Department of Homeland Security in this case inexcusable.