ICE Arrests Afghan National Resettled Under Biden Administration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has apprehended an Afghan man who was resettled in the United States through the Biden administration’s Operation Welcoming Allies. According to officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), this individual is believed to have links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Khorasan (ISIS-K).

On Wednesday, ICE reported the arrest of Jaan Shah Safi, who entered the U.S. as part of the large-scale operation aimed at bringing Afghan nationals to American communities, albeit with minimal vetting processes.

Officials indicated that Safi not only provided support to ISIS-K but also to the wider Islamic State in Iraq. Additionally, he is said to have supplied weapons to his father, who holds the position of a militia commander in Afghanistan.

Safi arrived in the U.S. through Philadelphia on September 8, 2021, as part of this substantial resettlement initiative. However, he later applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), an application that was ultimately terminated when DHS Secretary Kristi Noem discontinued TPS for Afghans, resulting in Safi becoming an undocumented immigrant.

ICE agents arrested him in Waynesboro, Virginia, on Wednesday.

“Today, our courageous ICE officers apprehended Jaan Shah Safi, an individual who provided material assistance to ISIS-K,” Noem stated. She added, “This individual was brought into the United States under the flawed Operation Welcoming Allies program. Just miles from our nation’s capital, our brave National Guardsmen were ambushed and killed recently by another unvetted Afghan brought into our country.”

Noem criticized the Biden administration, claiming it has created a severe national security crisis. She noted that approximately 190,000 Afghans were admitted into the U.S. without adequate screening and asserted that their intentions were only assessed once they were already on American soil.

Another recent incident involved Afghan national Rahmanullah Rakanwar, who is accused of ambushing and killing National Guardsmen Sara Beckstrom and Andrew Wolf in Washington, D.C. Beckstrom later succumbed to her injuries, while Wolf remains in critical condition. Like Safi, Rakanwar was resettled under the same initiative.

Additionally, on November 25, Mohammad Dawood Alokozai, another Afghan national, was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, after allegedly posting a video on TikTok suggesting he was planning a terrorist attack. He, too, was part of the Operation Welcoming Allies.