This is the story of an Afghan soldier and a tragically broken US immigration and asylum system.
Abdul Wasi Safi was trained by the US military to become an elite special forces commando in Afghanistan. When Kabul fell, Wasi was still fighting the Taliban in the north. On August 30, 2021, when the last US plane left Kabul, Wasi went into hiding, going from safe house to safe house organized by the US veterans who helped him get to Pakistan. He hoped to receive a special immigration visa and move to the United States legally
The Taliban had his biometrics, left behind by the US government, and were hunting him. Now, Wasi finds himself in a Texas prison facing deportation to Kabul and certain death, a manifesto for America’s broken asylum system.
“I was in a special forces commando unit with the US military,” Wasi told Fox News in a telephone interview from the Eden Detention Center in Texas. “I wanted to come to the United States. I don’t choose another country to help me because I was with them. But I come here and they put me in prison.”
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Armed Afghans
(Fox News)
He described a year-long treacherous journey across two continents. After receiving a visa for Brazil, he quickly realized that Afghans were viewed as terrorists in Latin America. So, he started heading towards the US border. He made his way on foot and by bus through 10 countries and was robbed, tortured and beaten. He shared with Fox News some of the videos he shot crossing the Darien Gap near Panama, a dangerous crossing. Along the way, he received the treatment he expected from the Taliban.
“Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. I went all that distance to come to the United States because I thought and hoped that the American government would help me,” Wasi told Fox.
Instead, he was arrested at the border trying to cross the Rio Grande.
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“The Panama police tortured me. In front of all the people, they beat me. They called me a terrorist,” Wasi said. “I don’t know why. They tortured me for no reason. I don’t know why.”
Wasi’s brother Sami-ullah Safi worked as a translator for the US military starting in 2010. In 2015, Sami moved to Houston on a special immigration visa and became a US citizen in July 2021, a month before the fall of Kabul.
He has been trying to help his brother reach the United States ever since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. He said he was shocked by what his brother went through to get to Texas and by his treatment of him since then.
“People had died in the river. On the way, many people died. And, in the jungle, he explained that there was a type of people who sometimes robbed and mostly killed people. And he survived,” he said. said Sami incredulously. . He worked with groups of US veterans to pay for Wasi’s travel and arrange for his visa to Brazil.
Foreigners board a Qatar Airways plane at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2021.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangué)
“Instead of being welcomed in Brazil by locals and people living in the area designated for Afghans, they started treating Afghans as terrorists. And he was robbed and beaten by mobs in Brazil,” Sami said. “He will never forget the torture that was inflicted on him by the Panamanian police. They tore off his clothes. They beat him to the point that they couldn’t beat him anymore.”
On September 30, Wasi finally crossed the Rio Grande to the United States, where he thought he would be welcomed with open arms by the US government and the special forces he served with. He assumed they knew who he was.
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“I have biometrics with the US military,” Wasi said. “Also, I have biometrics with the Special Forces Command. I was at Marmol Camp. There were US military there. The US military was there. We went on missions together.”
Sami explained why they both feel let down by the US government and the US military that Wasi served.
“He’s deeply disappointed. And he’s appealing to those who always told him, ‘We’re fighting a common enemy. We’re fighting shoulder to shoulder.’ He is calling those who used to call him ‘comrade in battle’,” Sami said. “He didn’t expect this behavior from US officials against him. He expected a hero’s welcome.”
Instead, after crossing the Rio Grande, a Border Patrol agent found him after following his footprints. Wasi sought asylum from the agent and was instead arrested and charged with a federal felony for illegal entry into the country. He was first taken to Val Verde Penitentiary and is now in Eden Detention Center in Texas.
Ben Owen is a US veteran who started the non-profit Flanders Fields to help homeless veterans and Afghans and has helped the Safi family navigate legal complexities.
“The night he crossed, I think he was with over 90 other migrants, all detained, all released. But the one guy who served with American forces that we know, you know, has America’s best interests at heart to the point where he would put himself in danger to defend him, he’s still being held,” Owen told Fox News.
Wasi is facing a criminal conviction for illegally crossing the border and deportation to Afghanistan.
“To answer your question about how we know who he is, we found him among the lists of the last special operations task force commander who left Afghanistan,” Owen said. “So he’s exactly who he says he is. We have all the certifications. We know he went through officer training in India and held command. I mean, these guys are more controlled than you and me, Jennifer. We’re talking polygraphs We know every single thing there is to know about them. There’s no way they’re terrorists.”
Immigrants wait to be processed by the US Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico. The US-Mexico border fence is in the background on August 6, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona.
(Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
Indeed, even after Wasi was captured and incarcerated, his brother Sami continues to help American veterans like Ben Owen.
“This kid continues to volunteer and put his heart on the line for America, even after his brother was arrested,” Owen recalled incredulously. “This kid keeps putting himself in danger for America, even after America arrested his brother and threatened him with deportation. It’s inconceivable.”
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Owen was referring to a recent volunteer effort where Sami joined him in Houston to catch a fugitive accused of murder in Atlanta.
“I did everything I could to the best of my ability for this country. My brother put his life in danger, working in special forces, which was not accepted by many people in Afghanistan. And I worked alongside the military of the United States, and I didn’t expect it to happen to my brother,” Sami said from his home in Houston, five hours from where his brother is still incarcerated in a US detention facility with the worst criminals in the country.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Fox’s repeated requests for information about Wasi’s case. The Justice Department declined to comment. His next court hearing is scheduled for January 10.
