ICE Arrests Afghan National in Virginia Accused of ISIS-K...

By Dan Gooding and Gabe WhisnantShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

Federal immigration agents have arrested an Afghan national in Virginia who entered the United States under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.

DHS officials said the man, Jaan Shah Safi, is accused of providing support to ISIS-K and supplying weapons to his father, described as a militia commander in Afghanistan.

Safi came to the U.S. in 2021 and was taken into custody on December 3, according to the department.

Why It Matters

Safi's arrest is the latest in a series of detentions of Afghan nationals in recent days that have intensified political debate over the vetting of those admitted after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Trump administration has criticized the previous administration, accusing it of failing to fully vet refugees and immigrants, while former DHS officials have insisted that new arrivals were subjected to intense questioning and background checks.

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What To Know

In its announcement on Wednesday, DHS said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents had detained Safi earlier in the day in Waynesboro, Virginia, accusing him of providing support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan (ISIS-K).

The Afghan national arrived in the U.S. on September 8, 2021, DHS said, as part of the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome. He first stayed in Philadelphia and had applied for Temporary Protected Status, but his TPS was terminated when the protections ended under Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

Further details on Safi's alleged crimes were not immediately available, with DHS then linking his arrest to two other Afghan nationals having been detained in recent days.

On November 25, Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, also released into the U.S. under the Biden-era program, was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, accused of making bomb threats on TikTok. Local authorities and the FBI were handling the case.

The following day, Rahmanullah Lakanwal was arrested after allegedly shooting two National Guard officers in Washington, D.C. One officer, Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, was still being treated in the hospital on Wednesday, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

That attack led to renewed criticism of the U.S.' withdrawal from Afghanistan under former President Joe Biden and the immigration program, which allowed several thousand immigrants to head to the U.S., many of whom had helped American forces after they arrived in 2001.

DHS has since ordered reviews of immigration applications, including green cards and citizenship, for those from Afghanistan, as well as 18 other countries on Trump's travel ban list.

What People Are Saying

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in a press release Wednesday: “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. President Trump has been working every day since January 20 to clean up this unmitigated national security crisis.”

What Happens Next

With DHS promising a crackdown on those admitted to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, more arrests and visa revocations are likely in the coming days and weeks.

Update 12/03/25, 5:20 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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