Washington, D.C. (November 5, 1018) – Bangladesh is a hotbed for Islamic terror. But, when Bangladeshis were spotted moving northward in the migrant caravan alongside Central Americans, many in the media brushed it off as not technically supportive of the president's much-scorned claim that "unknown Middle Easterners" added an extra touch of risk to the migrant caravan.
Todd Bensman, the Center's Senior National Security Fellow and author of a recent post, said, "Some in the media downplayed the presence of Bangladeshis in the caravan because they're not Middle Eastern. This is a mistake. Bangladesh is ground zero for Islamic extremist recruitment, and we have detained a Bangladeshi associated with terror groups before. With the current catch-and-release policies at the border due to asylum loopholes, this means that migrants with potential links to terrorist groups could be allowed entry to the interior of the country."
Bangladesh is a country that is highly trammeled with ISIS and al-Qaeda sympathizers, brooding members of a radical Islamist party now out of power, homegrown jihadists of various strands, mosques where extremism is preached, and returning foreign terrorist fighters with combat experience in Syria. Al-Qaeda and ISIS have committed nearly 40 terror attacks in the country since 2015.
In 2010, one of two Bangladeshi migrants traveling together who reached the Mexico-Arizona border admitted to membership in a U.S.-designated terrorist group back home. He was deported while his partner applied for asylum and absconded without ever showing up for the hearing.
Contact:
Marguerite Telford
Director of Communications, Center for Immigration Studies
(202) 466-8185
mrt@cis.org | 
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