U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested Afghan national Jaan Shah Safi, an alleged ISIS-K supporter, in Waynesboro, Virginia.
According to Fox News, Safi was reportedly brought into the United States under former President Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome.
Safi arrived in the U.S. on September 8, 2021, in Philadelphia, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
He applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), but the application was terminated after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended TPS for Afghan nationals.
“Today, our heroic ICE officers arrested Jaan Shah Safi, a terrorist who provided material support to ISIS-K,” Noem said in a statement.
She sharply criticized the prior administration, claiming Safi’s entry was part of a broader national security failure.
“The Biden administration brought this terrorist into the U.S. under the disastrous Operation Allies Welcome program,” she said.
Noem highlighted recent attacks allegedly tied to Afghan arrivals. She referenced the shooting of two National Guard members near Washington, D.C., as well as arrests of other Afghan nationals for terror-related threats.
“The Biden administration created one of the worst national security crises in American history. Biden let into our country nearly 190,000 unvetted Afghan aliens, only determining who they were and their intentions when they were already on American soil,” she said.
Safi’s arrest is the third involving Afghan nationals released into the U.S. under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome in less than a week.
On November 26, Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly attacked two National Guard members near the White House, killing one.
On November 25, Mohammad Dawood Alokozay was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, for allegedly making bomb threats, posting videos indicating he was constructing explosives.
The Trump administration, which resumed office in January, has halted Afghan refugee resettlement, citing national security concerns. DHS officials have maintained that Safi and other arrests underscore the risks associated with admitting unvetted Afghan nationals.
Noem concluded, “President Trump has been working every day since Jan. 20 to clean up this unmitigated national security crisis,” framing the arrests as part of ongoing efforts to address threats tied to the prior administration’s refugee program.
