FBI investigating immigrants inside U.S. after smuggler with ISIS ties helped them get past border

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is ramping up investigations of more than 12 immigrants inside the U.S. after a smuggler with ISIS ties helped them travel to the U.S. border and seek asylum to gain entry to the country.

“There was no indication—and remains no indication—that any of the individuals facilitated by this network have a connection to a foreign terrorist organization or are engaged in plotting a terrorist attack in the United States,” said National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson on Wednesday.

CNN reported that the FBI is currently "closely scrutinizing a number of the immigrants as possible criminal threats," citing U.S. officials.

According to CNN's report, immigrants from Uzbekistan had requested asylum at the border and and there was "no information in any of the intelligence community’s databases that raised any red flags and the people were all released into the US pending a court date. "

Later on, the FBI identified a human smuggling network that assisted foreigners to travel to U.S. and that included "at least one individual" had ties to ISIS.

Watson explained that Department of Homeland security officials started detaining, vetting and speeding up the removal of other immigrants encountered at the southern border who "fit the profile associated with individuals who were facilitated by this network."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the situation on Wednesday at the White House press briefing. 

"Intelligence alerted us to a human smuggling network," she said. "We moved fast and successfully to disrupt it."

Jean-Pierre said there is currently "no sign that anyone moved by the smuggling network has terrorism connections."

Just the News has reported that the number of suspected terrorists encountered at the border are at a record high. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has still not informed the House Judiciary Committee about the status or location of those immigrants encountered at the border who may suspected terrorist ties.

Members of the committee, such as Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cal.), pressed Mayorkas at a hearing in July to disclose the whereabouts of the suspected terrorists caught at the border. Issa asked specifically whether they have been deported, jailed or released into the interior of the country. Issa's office told Just the News that the committee hasn't received that information after Mayorkas promised to provide it at the hearing.