Feds drop charges against Afghan soldier trying to claim asylum in Texas

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s day by day e-newsletter that retains readers up to pace on probably the most important Texas news.

A former Afghan soldier who crossed a number of continents trying to escape the Taliban’s revenge and reconnect along with his brother in Houston put a possible legal document behind him after charges of illegally getting into the U.S. have been dropped Tuesday.

An assistant U.S. legal professional requested a choose this week to dismiss — “in the interest of justice” — the case against Abdul Wasi Safi, or Wasi, who was arrested on the U.S.-Mexico border final yr. The choose agreed, in accordance to courtroom data.

Wasi confronted up to one yr in jail and a high quality of up to $5,000 if he pleaded responsible. But Wasi didn’t need a legal document beginning his life over in the U.S. — particularly after his service in reference to the nation.

Wasi, a former Afghan particular forces officer, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border close to Eagle Pass on Sept. 30. Border Patrol apprehended Wasi and charged him with a criminal misdemeanor for failure to current with the mandatory paperwork to stay in the U.S. He spent practically 4 months at a detention middle beneath U.S. Marshals custody in Eden Detention Center.

The charges have been dropped after months of publicity and a bipartisan congressional effort to free him. Wasi’s case was first reported by The Texas Tribune.

Wasi stays in border patrol custody however is now free to restart his journey towards asylum, in accordance to his attorneys. His authorized group hopes he might be launched and reunited along with his brother in Houston, in accordance to his attorneys.

“I promise you, I’m so happy and it’s a huge relief for me,” Sami-ullah Safi, Wasi’s brother, mentioned concerning the cost dismissal.

Wasi’s journey to Texas started after the U.S. withdrew its army operations from Afghanistan in August 2021, after practically 20 years of battle. Wasi — like many Afghans — tried for days to board a army flight out of Kabul. Thousands rushed the closely guarded tarmac. Few made the ultimate extraction.

Wasi had been a particular forces intelligence officer in the Afghan National Security Forces. Those who had served immediately with the U.S. and its allies grew to become targets of the Taliban’s revenge killings as soon as they took over in the facility vacuum the U.S. left because the Afghan authorities collapsed.

Wasi took to hiding, fearing the worst for himself and his household as he heard experiences of horrible killings of these he had served with in the Afghan particular forces.

Wasi studied journalism at college and labored in army intelligence. His work immediately aided U.S. particular operations missions, usually partnering on missions to safe operational areas against the Taliban and different native insurgents. People like Wasi made supreme targets on a Taliban hit record.

For months, Wasi hid along with his household in Afghanistan whereas making an attempt to discover a method in a foreign country safely. His brother, Sami-ullah Safi, had labored immediately with U.S. particular forces as a contracted interpreter and lives in Houston as a U.S. citizen. Over the subsequent yr, Wasi crossed international locations and continents on a harmful migratory path by Latin America to his arrest on the border.

With the legal charges dropped, and an anticipated reunification along with his brother, Wasi and his authorized group can flip their consideration to his asylum case in earnest, which might take years to course of.

“The immigration side starts now,” mentioned Jennifer Cervantes, Wasi’s immigration legal professional.

Cervantes mentioned Wasi’s launch could also be delayed as federal companies type by further steps. Wasi stays in Border Patrol custody. However, she mentioned, these officers need Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take custody. She doesn’t assume ICE may have any points seeing Wasi’s sincerity.

“He’s definitely not a threat, he’s been vetted [by the FBI],” Cervantes mentioned. “He’s not a flight risk, he wants to be here and he wants to proceed legally.”

Most not too long ago, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, pressed the White House to get entangled in Wasi’s case, asking President Joe Biden for a pardon. Jackson Lee is anticipated to host a news convention on Friday, in accordance to a press launch from her workers.

Additional members of Congress joined in penning their very own letters to the White House together with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, and Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican. Both are each army veterans.