Whether this person is a terrorist or not, an open border will sure
make it easer for them to sneak in.
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Unusual illegal border crossing draws attention of U.S. officials
SETH HETTENA
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - Authorities in California were on the lookout Tuesday for
a man believed to be from the Middle East who paid a higher-than-usual
smuggling fee to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, but officials said the
case had no connection to terrorism.
"This is not a terrorist warning," said Homeland Security spokeswoman
Lauren Mack.
The man, who was not identified, entered the United States Monday near
Tecate, Mexico - a small border crossing station about 70 miles east
of San Diego.
It was unclear how he crossed the border. Once across, the man got
into a Ford F150 pickup, according to a witness who alerted U.S.
immigration officials. Agents said they believed the information to be
credible, Mack said.
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned the man had
paid more than the typical $1,500 to $2,000 smuggling fee and notified
the California Highway Patrol, which put out a "soft lookout" - a
lower-priorty alert - for the Interstate 5 corridor.
"It's not uncommon for us to alert the local highway patrol when we
are following up on smuggling activity," Mack said.
The man got into a 2000 Ford pickup with California plates, Mack said.
Department of Motor Vehicle records show the plate was registered to a
Yolanda Rodriguez. The vehicle was believed to be headed to Northern
California.
State officials could not release the vehicle's registered address.
ABC News, citing anonymous sources, reported over the weekend that
al-Qaida planned to send terrorists across the Mexican border into the
United States, and that suicide attacks were being planned in the
city, possibly using trucks.
A woman with a South African passport was arrested near the
U.S.-Mexico border last month when she tried to board a flight to New
York with more than $6,000 in cash. Officials told The Associated
Press they were investigating whether Farida Goolam Mohamed Ahmed, 48,
had ties to al-Qaida or other terrorist groups.
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