Jordanian Illegal Alien who Tried to Breach Military Base Released Despite Being on Terror Watchlist

Though the Biden administration has publicly denied it, one of the Jordanian illegal immigrants released from federal custody after being charged for trying to breach a U.S. military base appears on a terror watch list, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch. The men, 32-year-old Hasan Yousef Hamdan and 28-year-old Mohammad Khair Dabous, posted bail in early June and were released by the Washington D.C. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the records show. A Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge in Annandale, Virginia set Dabous’ bail at $10,000 and Hamdan’s at $15,000 and they were freed after posting bond and agreeing to stay away from military facilities and to appear in court for immigration hearings.

Judicial Watch has been investigating the matter since the Jordanians tried to infiltrate Marine Corps Base Quantico on May 3, quickly firing off a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain records that could shed light on what occurred that day and uncover any threat that the individuals may represent. The Virginia base is about 35 miles south of Washington D.C. and houses the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Academy and Laboratory as well as a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) facility and Marine Corps commands that include the unit that flies the president’s Marine One helicopter. Initial reports revealed that in the early morning hours of May 3, Hamdan and Dabous drove a truck to the military installation’s main gate and told guards they were making a delivery to Quantico Town’s post office. They ignored guards’ orders to stop when they could not provide credentials required to gain access to the facility. The illegal immigrants were arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing on military property.

A Serious Incident Report (SIR) filed by Marine Base Quantico to Marine Headquarters confirms that a white box truck driven by Dabous tried to access the installation via a gate on Fuller Road. Guards asked for a license to conduct a visitor check and directed Dabous to move the truck into the inspection area. While the guard transmitted the drivers’ license information for vetting, the truck moved forward from the holding area and final denial barriers were deployed, according to the SIR report obtained by Judicial Watch. The passenger, Hamdan, could only provide a Jordanian passport for identification and both men were taken into custody. “Hamdan illegally entered the United States 20 days ago from Mexico into California where Hamdan was arrested and sent to an immigration camp with a deportation court date in 2026,” the SIR report states. An ICE officer, whose name is redacted in the document, “telephonically confirmed” to the Marine Criminal Investigations Division (CID) that “Hamdan was on a terror watch list,” the report says, further revealing that ICE personnel assumed custody of Hamadan and Dabous for further processing.

Despite the Marine SIR documenting that Hamdan appears on a terror watch list, the government—specifically ICE—has consistently denied it. A spokesperson for ICE ERO in Washington D.C. told Judicial Watch that neither man posed a threat to national security or the public. The spokesperson, James Covington, assured that the agency is “focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that protects the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws.” Covington also emphasized that “regardless of nationality, ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with U.S. law and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, considering the circumstances of each case” and that ICE officers “apply prosecutorial discretion in a responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement professionals and in a way that best protects the communities we serve.”

While Hamdan is one of hundreds on the terror watchlist to sneak into the country through the famously porous southern border, Dabous was admitted in the U.S. on September 11, 2022, as an F-1 nonimmigrant student with authorization to remain for the duration of his student status, records obtained by Judicial Watch show. On January 14, 2023, Dabous’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record was set to “terminated,” indicating that his permission to be in the country expired, though he never left. Judicial Watch will continue investigating this case and fighting for records that can further uncover the outrageous security lapses associated with the Biden administration’s dangerous open border measures.