U.S. DHS Arrests Afghan Citizen on Child Abuse Charges, Holds for Deportation

U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents arrested Afghan citizen Basir Ahmad Safi on March 11 on child abuse charges. At the time of his arrest, his residency status was revoked, and he was deemed to be residing illegally in the United States. Safi will remain in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending deportation.

Safi entered the United States on parole in 2021 under a Biden administration program. He was arrested by police in Florida in September 2023 and charged with lascivious exhibition or voyeurism, enticing a child via computer, illegal use of a two-way communication device, and child abuse. According to DHS, Safi was convicted of inappropriate behavior with a minor.

Lauren Base, assistant deputy secretary at DHS, stated: "This unchecked Afghan child abuser was brought into our country by the Biden administration. He should never have been allowed into our country or given the opportunity to prey on innocent children."

Base criticized the "Welcome Allies" parole program, saying it allowed thousands of Afghans into the country without vetting, including terrorists, sex aggressors, child abusers, domestic abusers, and murderers.

The arrest occurs amid a recent intensification of detentions of Afghan refugees by ICE. Advocacy organizations report that dozens of Afghans with valid documents have been detained. These actions followed an incident in which Afghan national Rahmanullah Laknwal shot at two U.S. National Guard members in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, described the shooting as terrorism and demanded a review of immigration files for Afghans transferred to the United States during the Biden administration.