MOGADISHU (SD) -Patrick Lechleitner, the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has revealed that a member of the Al-Shabaab was accepted into the United States and lived there for over a year after being apprehended near the southern border.

The individual, identified as a 27-year-old Somali national, was initially detained close to San Ysidro in 2023 after illegally crossing the border.

A procedural oversight due to a “mismatch” in the Terrorist Screening Center’s evaluation process led to the individual’s release into the U.S. It wasn’t until a reassessment on January 18, 2024, that the man was confirmed as an al-Shabaab member.

The U.S. authorities are met with the challenge of screening individuals on the terrorist watchlist to prevent them from entering that country, however, they have detained 172 individuals in 2023.

This case highlights the challenges in border security and the complexities of managing global terrorism concerns.