Mustafa Çağlayan
08 January 2016•Update: 08 January 2016
NEW YORK
Two Palestinian refugees were arrested Thursday on terror-related charges, according to the Justice Department.
Separately filed criminal complaints alleged that Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab and Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan attempted to provide material support to terrorist organizations in Syria.
Jayab, 23, allegedly travelled to Syria to fight alongside Daesh and lied to U.S. authorities about his activities, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento, California.
He communicated over social media about his intent to return to Syria to fight for terrorist organizations, discussing his previous experience with firearms and with fighting against the Syrian regime, the complaint alleged.
When he was interviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, he lied about his ties and travels, the complaint said. If convicted, Jayab faces eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Hardan, 24, was charged in a three-count indictment that alleges he attempted to provide material support to Daesh, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston, Texas.
The indictment alleged that Hardan attempted to provide "training, expert advice and assistance, and personnel – specifically himself – to a known foreign terrorist organization".
He also lied to U.S. authorities when applying to become a naturalized citizen that "he was not associated with a terrorist organization when, in fact, he associated with members and sympathizers of ISIL throughout 2014," according to the charges.
Hardan and Jayab are Iraqi-born Palestinians who entered the U.S. as refugees in 2009 and 2012, respectively, the Department of Justice said.
The arrests come as dozens of state governors, mostly Republicans, have vowed to bar Syrian refugees from entering their jurisdictions following November's deadly attacks in Paris.
"I applaud the FBI for today's arrest of this dangerous subject. However, this is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists," Texas Gov. Greg Abbot said in a statement.
