Vehicles drive through the main gate at Marine Corps Base Quantico (Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)
"It was at that time, one of the military police officers noticed the driver, ignoring the direct instructions of the officers, continued to move the vehicle past the holding area and attempted to access Marine Corps Base Quantico," spokesperson Capt. Michael Curtis said in a statement.
Officials later turned them over to ICE after their arrest for trespassing. In a statement, ICE confirmed the arrest of two Jordanian noncitizens and said they were in Enforcement and Removal Operation (ERO) custody, but did not provide any more information about their cases.
"Regardless of nationality, ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with U.S. law and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, considering the circumstances of each case. ICE officers make decisions on associated enforcement actions and apply prosecutorial discretion in a responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement professionals and in a way that best protects the communities we serve," a spokesperson said.
The White House also declined to comment, noting it was a law enforcement matter. That came hours after acting ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner had said he was familiar with the case and that the two nationals were in removal proceedings — but did not comment further.
Former officials who spoke to Fox News Digital noted that officials are limited by regulation 8 CFR 208.6, which generally blocks disclosure of information to third parties pertaining to asylum applications, credible fear determinations, except for limited circumstances.
"This regulation safeguards information that, if disclosed publicly, could subject the claimant to retaliatory measures by government authorities or nonstate actors in the event that the claimant is repatriated, or endanger the security of the claimant's family members who may still be residing in the country of origin," DHS says of the regulation. There is a similar DOJ regulation.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) special agent (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
John Fabbricatore, a former ICE field office director who is now running for a congressional seat in Colorado as a Republican, agreed with Homan’s assessment. However, he said that ICE could still be more forthcoming with information.
"If it is an asylum claim, I think ICE should just come out and say, ‘Due to an asylum claim, we're not going to release these two names, but these two individuals did enter, say, on the southern border illegally, or they entered as students and then claimed asylum later on," he said. "I don't see the negative in at least allowing the public to know how the method of entry was, at least that."
"I don't think they're releasing it because I believe that they probably entered illegally over the southern border," he said.
BORDER PATROL OFFICIALS SAY THREAT POSED BY ‘GOTAWAYS’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER ‘KEEPS US UP AT NIGHT’
Fabbricatore, who authored the new book "DE-ICED," said the only way ICE doesn’t know their immigration history is if they had somehow managed to enter the U.S. with no detection whatsoever as a gotaway.
"But that's even more alarming. If these two were gotaways and got in a truck and tried to enter a military base, that's even more concerning, right?" he said.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Fox News' Bill Melugin and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter.
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