Two Yemeni men on a terrorism watch list were arrested in separate incidents after illegally crossing the border from Mexico into California, the U.S. Border Patrol announced Monday.

A 33-year-old man from Yemen was stopped on Jan. 29 a few miles from the Calexico Port of Entry, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP).

A cell phone SIM card was found hidden under the insole of his shoe, authorities said. He was later transferred into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to CBSN Los Angeles.

A 26-year-old man, also from Yemen, was arrested near the same port of entry on March 30 at approximately 11:30 pm.

Records checks determined that both men are on the FBI's terrorism watch list and the U.S. no-fly list, the USCBP said.

The Border Patrol did not provide the names of the men.

"Part of the Border Patrol's mission states we will protect the country from terrorists," Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino said in the statement. "We can never stop being vigilant."

Last month during a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said border agents told him that suspected terrorists are trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border, according to Fox News.

Democrats and liberal media outlets questioned McCarthy's claims of foreign nationals on the terror watch list entering the country.

Then it was revealed that four foreign nationals whose names were on the terror watch list had been arrested by the Border Patrol in October of 2020.

In February 2021, 11 Iranian citizens were detained when they tried to cross the U.S. southern border, according to the USCBP.

As CBN News reported in 2019, a captured and now repentant Canadian ISIS fighter recently revealed a plot for operatives to travel from Syria and gain entrance into the U.S. through the southern border with Mexico, using active routes taken by migrants.

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