NEW YORK, Dec 04 (APP): The Trump administration is sharpening its focus on deporting Afghan nationals who were previously ordered to leave the United States, following last week’s shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, according to documents seen by The New York Times.
“It has become vital to review the population of Afghanistan citizens,” the newspaper cited an unnamed official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) having emailed this message to agency field offices on Nov. 29.
The email said ICE agents had been tasked with “locating and apprehending” more than 1,860 Afghans across the country who had been given final deportation orders by an immigration judge but who were not currently in detention.
Those instructions were transmitted to ICE field offices this week, and federal agents were told to track down and arrest Afghan nationals,
In addition, officials at ICE and U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services have been working to ensure that Afghans admitted into the United States were “properly vetted,” the documents stated.
The Times said that the move was part of President Donald Trump’s response to a shooting last week that killed one National Guard member and left another in critical condition. The man accused of the shooting is an Afghan refugee named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who served in a C.I.A.-backed paramilitary unit in Afghanistan.
Lakanwal, who is said to have suffered from mental health issues after his combat experience, was one of the more than 190,000 Afghans resettled in the United States since 2021 through programmes created by the Biden administration to assist U.S. allies fleeing the Taliban takeover.
Since the shooting, Trump has intensified his aggressive anti-migrant stance and accused his predecessor of failing to adequately screen those who arrived in the country through the programmes, it was pointed out.
Lakanwal came to the United States in September 2021 through a programme called Operation Allies Welcome. He was granted asylum in April, during the Trump administration.
Biden administration officials have said that the Afghan nationals who arrived through Operation Allies Welcome were properly vetted and screened. Republicans have pointed to an inspector general report that later found significant flaws in the process.
In recent days, the Trump administration has halted all asylum requests and stopped issuing visas to people from Afghanistan; begun a review of all asylum cases that were approved under the Biden administration; and said it would re-examine green cards issued to people from 19 countries.
Together, the decisions could radically reshape American immigration policy, curtailing the ability of migrants to legally enter and live in the United States, according to the Times.
In response to a request for comment on the Afghan deportation effort, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that “the protection and safety of Americans and our homeland will remain our singular focus and mission.”
Ms. McLaughlin said the vetting of Afghan nationals was “tough and complex,” claiming that “many hate our country and seek to bring it harm.”
Many Afghans served as critical allies of American forces after the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the report pointed out
APP/ift