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Amid Sleeper Cell Threat, Here's How Many Iranian Nationals ICE Arrested in the Last Week Alone

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 27, 2025 8:00 AM

After the U.S. strikes against three key Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend, law enforcement officials in the U.S. focused on how the regime could possibly retaliate within the United States. Namely, concern grew over the threat posed by sleeper cells in the U.S., particularly after four years of Biden’s open border and more than 2 million gotaways. Border czar Tom Homan called it "the biggest national security vulnerability we’ve ever seen."  Jeh Johnson, former DHS Secretary under Obama, agreed, telling Fox News "the presence in this country of undocumented migrants or Iranian nationals who have links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, in my judgment, a domestic law enforcement concern of the highest magnitude.” And in the days before the U.S. strikes, Tehran sent a communique to President Trump threatening retaliatory terror attacks within the U.S. carried out by sleeper cells, NBC News reported. 

Understanding the threat, federal immigration enforcement officials are making it a priority to track down Iranian nationals who are in the country illegally. 

In the last week, ICE arrested 130 Iranian nationals across the U.S., while 670 Iranian nationals are in ICE detention. Among those arrested were former IRGC members, one with ties to Hezbollah while another was a former Iranian army sniper. 

Earlier this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi told members of Congress the U.S. is working to prevent threats from sleeper cells. 

"We have, thus far, arrested 1,500 illegal Iranians in our country, that is something that I would like to talk about in a classified setting," she said. "I can tell you we are on high alert." 

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