Iraqi refugees arrested in U.S. on terror charges

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Two men born in Iraq but living in the United States as refugees were arrested in Houston and Sacramento by law enforcement officials who were involved in an ongoing investigation into terrorism.

The suspects were identified by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Sacramento as Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, and by the Department of Justice as Omar Faraj Saeed Al Harden, 24.

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Al-Jayab is a Palestinian who came to the United States from his birthplace of Iraq in October 2012, as a refugee, CBS News reported, citing the complaint.

“Between November 2013 and January 2014, Al-Jayab allegedly reported on social media that he was in Syria fighting with various terrorist organizations, including Ansar al-Islam, a designated foreign terrorist organization since 2004,” authorities said, the news outlet reported. “He returned to the United States on Jan. 23, 2014, and settled in Sacramento.”

U.S. immigration and citizenship officials said Al-Jayab later lied about his travel, and told authorities he was visiting his grandmother in Turkey.

Al Harden, arrested in Houston, is also a Palestinian, the complaint reads. He’s been in the United States since 2009, living in Houston.

CBS News, citing authorities, reported Al Harden was radicalized while living in the United States.

Texas Gov.. Greg Abbott called the arrests a relief, and pointed to them as further justification of his view the United States ought to slow down the notion of accepting refugees, out of safety concerns for citizens.

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“I applaud the FBI for today’s arrest of this dangerous subject,” Abbott said, CBS News reported. “However, this is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists. I once again urge the president to halt the resettlement of these refugees in the United States until there is an effective vetting process that will ensure refugees do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans.”

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, meanwhile, said the arrests “may have prevented a catastrophic terror-related event in the making and saved countless lives.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican Party presidential hopeful, issued a statement shortly after the arrests that pointed fingers at the current administration and suggested stronger White House leadership was needed.

“The fact these two have been arrested underscores how real this [terrorism] danger is,” he said, in a widely reported statement. “We should not be allowing ISIS terrorists to come back to America with U.S. passports and wage jihad.”

The arrests aren’t really an anomaly.

As WND has reported. the list of terror suspects arrested in the United States has been growing long – only many in the public have been kept in the dark, due in part to political correctness.

Among the 20 or so arrests in just the last two years compiled by WND:

• An immigrant from Muslim-dominated Bangladesh, who applied for and received U.S. citizenship,‎ tried to incite people to travel to Somalia and conduct violent jihad against the United States. He was arrested in Texas in 2014.

• In July 2015, a Cuban immigrant inspired by Islamic extremists plotted to explode a backpack bomb filled with nails on a beach in Key West.

• An immigrant from Ghana, who applied for and received U.S. citizenship, pledged allegiance to ISIS and plotted a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. He attacked an FBI agent with a large kitchen knife when the agent was searching his home in June in Staten Island, New York. The search was connected to an investigation stemming from the weekend arrest of Munther Omar Saleh, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, CNN reported.

• An immigrant from Sudan living in northern Virginia, who applied for and received U.S. citizenship, tried to join ISIS and wage jihad on its behalf after having been recruited online. He pleaded guilty in federal court in June 2015 to providing material support to ISIS and his friend, according to court records, is now a member of the Islamic State fighting force in Syria.

• A Muslim refugee couple from Bosnia, along with their five relatives living in Missouri, Illinois and New York, were charged in February 2015 with sending money, supplies and smuggled arms to ISIS and other terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq.

• A Muslim immigrant from Yemen, who applied for and received U.S. citizenship, along with six other men living in Minnesota as members of refugee families, were charged in April 2015 with conspiracy to travel to Syria and to provide material support to ISIS.

• A Somali refugee with lawful permanent resident status, along with four other Somali nationals, were charged July 23, 2014, with leading an al-Shabaab terrorist fundraising conspiracy in the United States, with monthly payments directed to the Somali terrorist organization.