(The Center Square)–Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez is sounding the alarm about an increase of “Special Interest Aliens” (SIAs) being apprehended attempting to illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico.
In a social media post, he published a video of an interview between a Texas DPS trooper and a Turkish national, who was with a group of other Turkish men who illegally entered the country and were identified as SIAs.
Each of the SIAs had Turkish passports and were military age men.
The video depicts a female Texas Department of Public Safety trooper interviewing a Turkish national who spoke English. She asked him, “how did you guys make it over here?”
He said, “they found a network in Istanbul and some people took us first to Kuwait.”
When she asked them how they found the network, he replied, “Through Telegram, Instagram,” referring to a chat network and social media site.
He said they paid “$12 grand a person,” and the men with him confirmed they also paid that amount. He also said he didn’t know other people who were apprehended at the same time and standing nearby.
When she asked him what they were doing there in a remote area at the border, he said they were “looking for police to take us.”
“But do you have family, friends, anybody?” the trooper asked. “We have sponsors.”
When asked how they found the sponsors, he said through the network in Istanbul. When asked what a sponsor means, he said, “that means that they are going to take care of our expenses and everything.”
Don’t just survive — THRIVE! Prepper All-Naturals has freeze-dried steaks for long-term storage. Don’t wait for food shortages to get worse. Stock up today. Use promo code “jdr” at checkout for 25% off!
Olivarez said they weren’t the only SIAs that DPS troopers apprehended.
In the last 48 hours, DPS troopers have come across eight SIAs from five countries, all apprehended in a rural area of Normandy, Texas, in Maverick County, he said.
Texas DPS “uses every tool and resource,” working with local, county, and federal law enforcement partners to screen SIAs properly, he said, and “to provide transparency to the American public” about who’s illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
SIAs are noncitizens who based “on an analysis of travel patterns” are “known or evaluated to possibly have a nexus to terrorism” who “potentially poses a national security risk to the United States,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security explains.
Having an SIA designation does not necessarily mean the individual is a terrorist but their travel pattern “indicates a possible nexus to nefarious activity (including terrorism) and, at a minimum, provides indicators that necessitate heightened screening and further investigation.”
In 2016 during the Obama administration, DHS Secretary Jae Johnson ordered DHS to create a “‘multi-DHS Component SIA Joint Action Group’ to drive efforts to ‘counter the threats posed by the smuggling of SIAs.’” In 2019, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security released a report outlining the threat posed by SIAs and “unknown and other potentially dangerous individuals, traveling to the United States using illicit pathways.”
Earlier this week, retired San Diego Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke testified before Congress about how he said the Biden administration instructed him to not publicize arrests of SIAs.
“We had an exponential increase in Significant Interest Aliens … with significant ties to terrorism” illegally entering in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection San Diego Sector, Heitke said.
Prior to the Biden-Harris administration, the sector averaged 10 to 15 SIAs per year. “Once word was out that the border was far easier to cross, San Diego went to over 100 SIAs in 2022, way over 100 SIAs in 2023 and more than that this year,” Heitke said.
“These are only the ones we caught,” meaning the number likely is higher because of the volume of gotaways, those who illegally cross the border and are not apprehended.
“At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIA’s or mention any of the arrests,” Heitke testified. “The administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border.”
His testimony came as the greatest number of individuals on the U.S. federal terrorist watch list have been apprehended under the Biden-Harris administration of 1,856 since fiscal 2021 through August, The Center Square reported.
What Would You Do If Pharmacies Couldn’t Provide You With Crucial Medications or Antibiotics?
The medication supply chain from China and India is more fragile than ever since Covid. The US is not equipped to handle our pharmaceutical needs. We’ve already seen shortages with antibiotics and other medications in recent months and pharmaceutical challenges are becoming more frequent today.
Our partners at Jase Medical offer a simple solution for Americans to be prepared in case things go south. Their “Jase Case” gives Americans emergency antibiotics they can store away while their “Jase Daily” offers a wide array of prescription drugs to treat the ailments most common to Americans.
They do this through a process that embraces medical freedom. Their secure online form allows board-certified physicians to prescribe the needed drugs. They are then delivered directly to the customer from their pharmacy network. The physicians are available to answer treatment related questions.
