NEW YORK, June 12: The eight individuals arrested over the weekend in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles are reported to have potential ties to ISIS, according to sources familiar with the matter. They were apprehended by personnel from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), acting on information provided by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

These individuals, all from Tajikistan, entered the United States through the southern border, and initial criminal background checks conducted at the time of entry came back clean. At least two of them are said to have used the CBP One app, designed by the Biden administration for migrants to schedule asylum appointments, upon crossing the border in spring 2023.

The FBI had been monitoring this group for several months as part of an investigation into a potential terrorist threat originating in central Europe. Although no charges related to terrorism have been filed yet, the FBI deemed it necessary to alert ICE of their potential ties to ISIS, resulting in their arrest on immigration charges.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI confirmed the arrests, stating that they were carried out in close coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals are currently detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

This incident follows a similar arrest in April when ICE detained a Uzbek man in Baltimore with alleged ties to ISIS after he had been living in the US for over two years.