(NewsNation) — A 40-year-old Colombian man on the terror watchlist was caught crossing into the Eagle Pass area along the U.S.-Mexico border last month, sources confirmed to NewsNation.
Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya — who’s been flagged as a known or suspected terrorist — entered Feb. 21 into the Eagle Pass area of Texas, just days before former President Donald Trump arrived.
Sources say the Texas Department of Public Safety made the initial apprehension and then turned him over to Border Patrol. Yepez-Bedoya was taken into custody and transported to the soft-side facility known as “Firefly” to be processed.
Yepez-Bedoya was never released and currently has an immigration detainer because he was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service for criminal proceedings. He told Border Patrol he was headed to an address in Houston.
Border officials report a record number of migrant encounters for February, just shy of 190,000 people.
The Texas Department of Public Safety reported Wednesday that troopers encountered a group of 30 migrants in Eagle Pass, including three unaccompanied minors.
“I feel for the people, but also, I’m upset with the cartel and the people who are bringing these people here promising them they can come to the U.S. when they cannot. There is a process, but they don’t know that,” said voter Lupe Roma.
As this unfolds, another agency grapples with challenges in apprehending these large groups.
“I don’t have the space and the personnel; it takes me 25 minutes to process one individual,” said Maverick County, Texas, Sheriff Tom Schmerber. “Here at the border, we are very cautious to see what intent these people have and the community; that’s what they are worried about … what purpose are you coming in?”
Since October, the U.S. Border Patrol has caught 59 people on the terror watchlist crossing between ports of entry, marking a continuation of a significant uptick in recent years. From fiscal year 2017 to 2020, for example, less than 10 people on the list were encountered each year, federal data shows.
A Texas law — Senate Bill 4 — that would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally is currently headed to the Supreme Court in a legal showdown between the state and the federal government.