Two Jordanian nationals arrested at Quantico earlier this month were both in the U.S. illegally, one after crossing the border from Mexico and the other on an overstayed student visa.
Two Jordanian nationals arrested at Quantico earlier this month are in the U.S. illegally, one after crossing the border from Mexico and the other on an overstayed student visa.
Critics of the Biden administration have warned repeatedly that the country's open southern border puts Americans at risk, as enemies could sneak it among the migrants.
According to Fox News, one of the suspects entered the U.S. illegally through San Diego in April after crossing the border from Mexico. The other suspect overstayed his student visa.
Former federal firearms instructor Dave Katz, who worked at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, believes the strange arrest of the two Jordanians in a box truck at the base may have been a "dry run" to test security outside the facility ahead of a terror attack.
"Driving the box truck was a dry run for driving a box truck that was not going to be empty the second time," said Katz, a former DEA agent and the CEO and founder of Global Security Group. "Can I prove that? No. But it's like the 9/11 hijackers trying to get aboard planes with box cutters on other occasions prior to actually perpetrating the act."
The 9/11 Commission report found that the conspirators took cross-country test flights, smuggling box cutters onto planes before determining "the best time to storm the cockpit."
"It's their equivalent of a feasibility study," Katz said. "What would happen if we get off the highway in a box truck and try to get into the base?"
The two men had no weapons, no prior criminal records, and authorities have released no evidence that they had a terror-related motive.
However, Katz said he doubts their cover story that they were contracted drivers for Amazon or that they could have made a wrong turn.
Amazon said it was looking into the matter but that it did not believe the duo were delivering anything on the company's behalf.
The two men, both from Jordan, arrived at the base in a box truck on May 3, allegedly posing as delivery drivers and attempting to get onto the base, according to authorities.
Military police stopped them at the gate, but the driver allegedly ignored them and tried to move into the compound.
"Due to the swift response and execution of their duties, the officers were able to deploy the vehicle denial barriers, prevent any further access to Marine Corps Base Quantico and detain the individuals who were eventually turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody," Capt. Michael Curtis said in a statement.
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Patrick Lechleitner told Fox News Digital previously that the two were facing removal proceedings. However, they have not been publicly identified.
Neither ICE nor the FBI immediately responded to requests for comment.
Quantico is a Marine Corps base that also houses training facilities and a lab for the FBI and DEA, which could be potential terror targets, Katz said.
"Can anyone come up with any reasonable explanation as to why two illegal aliens from Jordan would be driving a box truck in a sensitive area, other than to try to make a dry run for a future incident?" Katz said. "If you can't provide an explanation for that, it's terror related."
