An illegal alien and suspected terrorist from South Africa was arrested in New York City after being released at the border by federal authorities.

Umar Farooq Ashraf, 18 years old, was arrested at a Brooklyn apartment three months after he was released into the country by federal agents when he illegally entered the United States by way of the southern border.

Ashraf was first apprehended in September by the Texas Department of Public Safety in Normandy when the state agency found that the South African national was a “spouse or child of a known or suspected terrorist” according to the Terrorist Screening Center. It is not apparent which terror organization the man is believed to have a connection to.

The Texas Department of Public Safety proceeded to hand Ashraf over to federal authorities, who later released the foreign national into the country despite his terror ties. The man then had to be captured by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in a multi-agency effort.

“A further subsequent investigation revealed a positive match on the terrorist watchlist, prompting swift action by USBP agents and personnel at the National Targeting Center,” Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens explained in a statement.

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One individual with the Department of Homeland Security reportedly said that the release of Ashraf was the result of a “major lapse in intelligence,” adding that he is a “real deal” terrorist “without a doubt.”

The arrest of Ashraf comes on the heels of another bust of illegal aliens in the Bronx. Federal agents and officers at the New York Police Department carried out a raid near the Bronx’s Crotona Park neighborhood earlier this month, resulting in the arrest of seven illegal aliens believed to be members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

The authorities found the residence after monitoring one man who had been previously arrested and was wearing an ankle monitor.

The series of arrests come as President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in American history, selecting former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan as his border czar.