A tranquil corner of upstate New York has been shaken by fears of terrorism after seven foreign men — including five Iranians — were caught by federal agents trying to sneak across the US-Canada border. The dramatic arrests occurred on July 1 near Mooers Forks, a sleepy hamlet just miles from the Canadian border, when Border Patrol agents from the Champlain Station intercepted a minivan packed with the seven suspicious men.

All the men had previously been arrested for trying to cross into the US illegally, reportedly sparking concern over Iranian sleeper cells operating in the US amid heightened geopolitical tensions. According to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the van carried five Iranian nationals and two men from Uzbekistan — all now in custody and facing deportation proceedings. ‘They are currently detained and pending removal proceedings,’ CBP confirmed on Facebook.

‘Border security is national security and directly correlates to public safety.’ The incident unfolded in the Swanton Sector, which spans parts of New York, New Hampshire and Vermont, which has emerged as a hotspot for illegal crossings amid a surge of foreign nationals attempting to enter the US from the north. Tensions are especially high following US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22, with security experts warning of Iranian-backed sleeper cells positioned inside the country, lying low and waiting to strike.

Still, there is no suggestion from CBP that any of the detainees are linked to the Iranian regime or its allied militias, or had planned any violent or even criminal attacks . They could just be economic migrants. Fox News reported that the arrests had stoked ‘terror fears’ without providing evidence. Jonathan Gilliam, a former FBI special agent and counterterrorism task force officer, sounded the alarm. ‘Where these sleeper cells may be is in plain sight,’ Gilliam told Fox News earlier this month. ‘That’s the truly terrifying part — they could already be here.’

Gilliam linked the growing threat to what he described as lax immigration policies under Joe Biden, arguing foreign operatives could easily exploit asylum loopholes to gain access to the country. ‘They can show up at the border, claim asylum, and instead of being properly vetted and held, they’re often released into the US with little oversight,’ Gilliam said. Other analysts note that Iran would be loath to attack the US right now, as it would likely compel President Donald Trump to launch a series of devastating economic and military actions against Tehran in response.

The arrests near Mooers Forks follow a troubling pattern. A 2023 terrorism report from the US State Department outlined several plots involving Iranian nationals on Western soil. They included an assassination plan in New York City, a terror reconnaissance case in London, and multiple Iranian-backed operations in Europe. ‘Iran has clearly shown it is willing to use terrorism as a tool of foreign policy,’ the report stated.

In one case, three individuals tied to Iran were charged in a plot to kill an Iranian dissident on US soil, while other plots led to arrests and expulsions of Iranian officials in Belgium, Albania, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The latest arrests have cast a long shadow over Mooers Forks, a community of some 3,600 farmers, retirees and others nestled among the forests and fields of rural Clinton County. Locals, more accustomed to spotting deer than international fugitives, now find themselves living on the frontline of potential terror infiltration.

As national attention remains fixed on the chaos at the southern border, experts say the northern frontier has become an overlooked backdoor — one increasingly used by those who wish America harm. In a separate incident, a New Hampshire Green Card holder and avid Trump supporter was recently denied re-entry into the United States after visiting Canada in the same region. Chris Landry, 46, has legally lived in the US since he was three years old and has built a life in Peterborough with his partner and five children.

But earlier this month, as he attempted to return home from his yearly trip to his native Canada, he was stopped at the border in Maine with three of his children and barred from re-entry. ‘They denied me re-entry and said, ‘Don’t come back or we will detain you,’ and the only way for me to get in back was to see an immigration judge,’ Landry told NBC 10. ‘They pulled me aside and started questioning me about my past convictions in New Hampshire.’

After three hours, he was turned away due to charges he faced of marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license in 2004 and 2007. At the time he was given a suspended sentence and paid the fines and said he has had no criminal record since. ‘I never expected that I wouldn’t be able to go back home,’ he told WMUR. ‘It was scary. I felt like I was being treated like a criminal.’