US border security measures were put to the test on Thursday when a Palestinian man with suspected terror links was apprehended while attempting to cross illegally from Mexico.

According to a confidential Border Patrol memo obtained by the New York Post, Omar Nawaf Issa Shehada was intercepted in the desert near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, alongside six other undocumented migrants.

During routine processing following the arrest, agents discovered Shehada’s name on a terrorism watchlist. The memo classified him as a “Cat-15” threat, indicating potential involvement with explosives and arms, though specific details about the nature of the threat were not disclosed.

Shehada, a resident of a Palestinian Authority-controlled area in Judea and Samaria, had undertaken a complex international journey prior to his attempted U.S. entry. His travel itinerary included flights from Madrid to Bogota with a layover in Panama City, followed by a flight to San Salvador. The memo did not specify how Shehada initially reached Spain or how he traversed from El Salvador to the U.S. border.

Shortly after Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, Border Patrol issued an advisory warning agents about the potential for terrorists to enter the US via the Mexican border. Included in this list are Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Just last month, three Palestinian terrorists were arrested at the California-Mexico border