Parents of MacDill bomb suspects are illegal immigrants, DHS warns of birthright citizenship dangers

The parents of the suspects connected to the foiled explosive onslaught extracurricular MacDill Air Force Base successful Florida past period are amerciable immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security announced, adding that the lawsuit underscores the dangers of birthright citizenship.

ICE agents took the parents, identified arsenic Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng, into custody connected March 18, days aft their son, Alen Zheng, allegedly planted an explosive instrumentality extracurricular the base.

Officials said the parents illegally entered the United States and applied for asylum successful 1993, but an migration justice denied those claims and ordered some Zheng and Zou removed from the U.S. successful 1998.

The Board of Immigration Appeals denied aggregate attempts by the brace to reopen their case, but they remained successful the U.S. for decades contempt the removal order.

MIKE DAVIS: SANITY MUST BE RESTORED TO BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Ann Mary Zheng, center, was arrested aft returning to the U.S., portion her parents, Qiu Qin Zou, left, and Jia Zhang Zheng, right, were taken into ICE custody, according to DHS, pursuing an probe into an attempted explosive instrumentality extracurricular MacDill Air Force Base successful Tampa, Florida. (DHS; Getty Images)

The arrests adhd a caller magnitude to the case, arsenic the Trump medication argues it underscores nationalist information risks tied to birthright citizenship, an contented present earlier the Supreme Court.

Their children — Alen Zheng and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng — were some calved successful the U.S. and are citizens.

Federal authorities allege Alen Zheng planted an improvised explosive instrumentality extracurricular the MacDill Air Force Base visitant halfway successful Tampa connected March 10, portion his sister aboriginal helped screen up the crime.

Prosecutors said Ann Mary Zheng "assisted aft the fact" and tampered with grounds to hinder her brother’s arrest.

Federal investigators judge Alen Zheng fled to China and remains there. His sister was arrested aft returning to the U.S. done Detroit.

The explosive device, described by officials arsenic perchance "very deadly," failed to detonate and was discovered six days aboriginal by an Air Force airman.

Police officers with the Tampa Police Department artifact postulation on South Dale Mabry Highway adjacent the main entranceway of MacDill Air Force Base, which houses CENTCOM headquarters, aft a suspicious bundle was reported astatine the gross successful Tampa, Florida, connected March 16, 2026. (Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)

Investigators aboriginal linked the instrumentality to materials recovered from Zheng’s location and a burner telephone utilized to spot a cryptic 911 telephone informing astir the bomb.

DHS officials said the lawsuit highlights broader concerns astir migration enforcement and citizenship laws, arsenic the Supreme Court weighs the scope of birthright citizenship nether the 14th Amendment.

"Automatically granting citizenship to children of amerciable aliens calved successful the U.S. … poses a large nationalist information risk," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said successful a statement. "This incidental underscores the terrible nationalist information menace that amerciable migration and birthright citizenship airs to the United States."

The bureau noted that the suspects were calved successful the United States aft their parents entered the state illegally.

President Donald Trump moved to restrict birthright citizenship done an enforcement bid signed connected his archetypal time successful office, arguing the existent mentation of the Constitution is flawed.

The argumentation is being challenged successful the Supreme Court, mounting up a large ineligible conflict implicit the scope of the 14th Amendment.

President Donald Trump became the archetypal sitting president to perceive unrecorded to Supreme Court oral arguments Wednesday successful Washington, D.C. The Trump medication said that the extracurricular MacDill Air Force Base incidental underscores the dangers of birthright citizenship. (Kent Nishimura / AFP)

Federal prosecutors person charged Alen Zheng with attempted demolition of authorities spot by occurrence oregon explosion, arsenic good arsenic weapons-related offenses, which could transportation up to 40 years successful prison.

Ann Mary Zheng faces charges of accessory aft the information and grounds tampering, with a imaginable condemnation of up to 30 years.

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Officials person not publically identified a motive oregon confirmed immoderate transportation to the Chinese government.

MacDill Air Force Base houses U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, making it 1 of the astir strategically important subject installations successful the country.

Fox News' Alex Nitzberg and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.