The Pakistani individual connected to Iran, arrested for allegedly planning a political assassination on U.S. soil, was granted entry into the United States through immigration parole for the “significant public benefit,” according to multiple federal law enforcement sources who spoke with Fox News.
Asif Merchant, 46, arrived in Houston in April, where he was met by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials. The FBI requested his parole for “security interests,” as reported by the sources.
The FBI had been monitoring Merchant prior to his arrival in the U.S. and needed him to physically enter the country to gather evidence and build a case for his arrest. If they had detained him at customs, they would have been unable to collect vital information about his alleged plot, the sources explained.
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Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of attempting to assassinate a political figure in the U.S. He was allowed entry into the U.S. via immigration parole, according to federal law enforcement sources. (Justice Department)
Sources told Fox News that this approach is not unusual.
Federal prosecutors stated that Merchant was apprehended on July 12 while attempting to leave the country.
Shortly after arriving in Houston, he traveled to New York City and attempted to collaborate with someone he believed was a hitman in a murder-for-hire scheme intended to take place in August or September, as per the Justice Department.
The supposed hitman contacted the FBI and became a confidential informant for the agency.
Merchant was reportedly considering targeting former President Trump, although the plot is not connected to the shooting of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
Merchant informed authorities that he has a wife and children in Iran, as well as a wife and children in Pakistan. The Iranian government has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the alleged murder-for-hire scheme.
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Merchant arrived in Houston where he met U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. (Getty Images)
“The Justice Department has filed multiple cases against individuals acting on behalf of the Iranian government to lethally target Americans on U.S. soil,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland commented on Tuesday. “However, as I mentioned last week, we anticipate these threats will persist, and these cases will not be isolated.”
There have been prior security concerns regarding Trump and his former advisers, citing the potential for retaliation from Iran for the 2020 drone strike that resulted in the death of General Qasem Soleimani, a key figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
An image of Asif Merchant, 46, during a meeting with a source. (DOJ)
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“We have not received any reports regarding this matter from the U.S. Government,” stated the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in a message to Fox News Digital this week. “However, it is clear that the actions described conflict with the Iranian Government’s policy of legally prosecuting the individuals responsible for the assassination of General Soleimani.”
