The parents of the suspects connected to the foiled explosive attack outside MacDill Air Force Base in Florida last month are illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security announced, adding that the case underscores the dangers of birthright citizenship.

ICE agents took the parents, identified as Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng, into custody on March 18, days after their son, Alen Zheng, allegedly planted an explosive device outside the base.

Officials said the parents illegally entered the United States and applied for asylum in 1993, but an immigration judge denied those claims and ordered both Zheng and Zou removed from the U.S. in 1998.

The Board of Immigration Appeals denied multiple attempts by the pair to reopen their case, but they remained in the U.S. for decades despite the removal order.

MIKE DAVIS: SANITY MUST BE RESTORED TO BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

The arrests add a new dimension to the case, as the Trump administration argues it underscores national security risks tied to birthright citizenship, an issue now before the Supreme Court.

Their children — Alen Zheng and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng — were both born in the U.S. and are citizens.

Federal authorities allege Alen Zheng planted an improvised explosive device outside the MacDill Air Force Base visitor center in Tampa on March 10, while his sister later helped cover up the crime.

Prosecutors said Ann Mary Zheng “assisted after the fact” and tampered with evidence to hinder her brother’s arrest.

Federal investigators believe Alen Zheng fled to China and remains there. His sister was arrested after returning to the U.S. through Detroit.

The explosive device, described by officials as potentially “very deadly,” failed to detonate and was discovered six days later by an Air Force airman.

Investigators later linked the device to materials recovered from Zheng’s home and a burner phone used to place a cryptic 911 call warning about the bomb.

DHS officials said the case highlights broader concerns about immigration enforcement and citizenship laws, as the Supreme Court weighs the scope of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

“Automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. … poses a major national security risk,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “This incident underscores the severe national security threat that illegal immigration and birthright citizenship pose to the United States.”

The agency noted that the suspects were born in the United States after their parents entered the country illegally.

President Donald Trump moved to restrict birthright citizenship through an executive order signed on his first day in office, arguing the current interpretation of the Constitution is flawed.

The policy is being challenged in the Supreme Court, setting up a major legal battle over the scope of the 14th Amendment.

Federal prosecutors have charged Alen Zheng with attempted destruction of government property by fire or explosion, as well as weapons-related offenses, which could carry up to 40 years in prison.

Ann Mary Zheng faces charges of accessory after the fact and evidence tampering, with a potential sentence of up to 30 years.

Officials have not publicly identified a motive or confirmed any connection to the Chinese government.

MacDill Air Force Base houses U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, making it one of the most strategically significant military installations in the country.

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

An Arizona girl whose 1994 disappearance was long treated as a possible abduction has been found alive more than three decades later and investigators now say she left voluntarily.

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office confirmed this week that Christina “Tina” Marie Plante, who vanished from Star Valley at age 13, has been located alive at 44, bringing a decades-old case to a close.

But new details shared by a lead investigator are shifting the narrative behind her disappearance.

Capt. Jamie Garrett, a cold case investigator who ultimately identified and contacted Plante, said she was surprised to learn the teen had run away rather than being taken.

ARIZONA GIRL LAST SEEN WALKING TO STABLE BEFORE VANISHING FOUND ALIVE DECADES LATER, AUTHORITIES SAY

“I guess she wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with, and she ran away,” Garrett told NewsNation on Thursday.

“I was dumbfounded,” Garrett added. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. OK, so you ran away.’ I told her … ‘You know, we were under the impression that somebody kidnapped you. It was deemed a criminal offense.’”

Plante was last seen around midday on May 15, 1994, leaving her home in Star Valley on foot. According to her missing person flyer, she told others she was heading to a nearby horse stable but never returned. Investigators at the time classified the case as “missing/endangered” under suspicious circumstances.

REALTOR’S COLD CASE MURDER FINALLY SOLVED AFTER 15 YEARS, POLICE SAY

She was described as having blue eyes and dark blonde hair and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, multicolored shorts and black tennis shoes.

Her disappearance prompted an extensive search effort, but authorities were unable to develop meaningful leads. Over time, the case went cold, though it remained open and was periodically revisited by investigators.

Garrett said he recently focused on a lead involving an adult woman he believed could be Plante and reached out directly. The woman confirmed her identity, according to Garrett.

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X

The investigator said Plante indicated she left on her own with help from relatives she had been in contact with at the time.

SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER

“She said that was a long time ago, that was an old life,” Garrett said. “She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about.”

SEND US A TIP HERE

Garrett also told NewsNation that he does not believe there are immediate family members currently in the Star Valley area still searching for Plante.

LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST

Authorities have not released further details about where Plante has been or the circumstances surrounding her departure, citing privacy considerations.

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB

The development marks a significant shift from the assumptions that guided the early investigation, which for years centered on the possibility that Plante had been abducted.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Critics called out California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office on Thursday for notably skipping former President Joe Biden in an X post that expressed nostalgia for “a president with a functioning brain.”

The Governor Newsom Press Office X account, known for leaning into humor and pugnacious hot takes, shared a post encouraging other X users to repost “if you miss having a President with a functioning brain.” The post featured an image of former President Barack Obama.

The message quickly went viral as users pointed out it skipped Biden’s presidency, which was specifically dogged by speculation about his declining mental acuity. 

NEWSOM TEAM MOCKS ‘CONSERVATIVE SNOWFLAKES’ AFTER GAY-DATING APP INSULTS SPARK HOMOPHOBIA CLAIMS

“They skipped someone,” podcaster Stephen L. Miller quipped.

The social media account representing the Republican Party riffed on Newsom mentioning his dyslexia and wrote, “We know you ‘can’t read’ but remember posting this?” The post showed Newsom’s account previously wishing Biden a happy birthday and credited him specifically for having a “functioning brain.”

Conservative commentator Jeff Blehar shared a popular meme cartoon of a goose who pursues somebody for some glaring omission and, in this case, saying, “Who did you omit there, Gavin? WHO DID YOU OMIT?”

THE MOST UNUSUAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: NEWSOM IS DYSLEXIC, STRUGGLES WITH SPEECHES, REJECTS ‘LIBERAL’ LABEL

After the backlash, the Newsom Press Office did credit Biden for something, however, but opted to praise his “empathy.”

“RT if you miss having a President with empathy,” the account wrote.

Fox News Digital contacted Biden’s office and did not receive an immediate reply.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE