An arrest this week by federal agents is proving that it's more than just Mexican Nationals and Central Americans who are sneaking across the border into Texas, News Radio 1200 WAOI reports.
A Jordanian national who was living in Monterrey, Mexico, is accused of smuggling six "special interest" migrants across the river near Eagle Pass, Texas.
HSI Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden says they were all from Yemen, but it's unclear the smuggling route they took.
"Attacking the leader/organizers of illicit international pathways for aliens from certain countries of interest will always be a priority of HSI," he says.
Moayad Heider Mohammad Aldairi, 31, was caught on arrival at JFK International Airport, where he was apparently trying to flee the United States.
"Alien smuggling puts our national security at risk, and the Criminal Division is dedicated to enforcing our immigration laws and disrupting the flow of illegal aliens into the United States," Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, says.
HSI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Vance Callender says they know where the Yemeni nationals are, and they're keeping track of them. Anybody from Yemen is considered "special interest" because of the proliferation of ISIS and Al Qaeda as the nation devolves in a civil war.
While it's unusual for Yemeni nationals to be trafficked across the Texas border, it's far from unheard of. In fact, it follows a pattern that has been tracked by the Pew Institute. Last year, their report found that, for the first time in more than a decade, Mexicans no longer make up the majority of immigrants staying in the U.S. illegally.
"Central America and Asia are the second and third most common birth regions for unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., after Mexico.
From 2009 to 2015, the number of unauthorized immigrants from both regions increased (including a rise in the Asian total from 1.4 million in 2014 to 1.5 million in 2015)," Jeffrey Passel writes.
IMAGE; GETTY