With tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees in the pipeline for U.S. resettlement, the largely unreported federal prosecution of New Jersey resident Mujeeb Rahman Saify begs visitation as a reminder that national security screening has sharp limitations.
The 34-year-old Saify, a former interpreter for U.S. forces, in 2009 secured a "Special immigrant visa" of the sort the Biden administration is planning to pass out to tens of thousands of incoming Afghan evacuees.
After passing Department of Defense security vetting for his military interpreter job and then again when he became a lawful permanent resident, Saify settled in New York and then New Jersey.
As if Saify's alleged violation of a compact with his adopted host nation was not bad enough on its own, one of the Afghans he allegedly helped smuggle over the Texas-Mexico border had been fired from U.S. Army employment as a "Security threat", had been banned from setting foot on another U.S. base, and was barred for life from ever receiving a special immigrant visa.
With Saify working on illegal arrangements from New Jersey, Ullah paid $16,000 for his border end-run.
Saify didn't merely arrange these dealings from afar; he used his immigrant status to fly to Afghanistan and then flew legs of the journey with his clients.
The willingness of Saify to smuggle such a person into America, and Ullah's willingness to brazenly cross the Rio Grande knowing America did not want him, underscores the probability that many more just like them are in the pipeline right now and won't get caught as easily.
https://cis.org/Bensman/One-Afghan-Military-Interpreter-Resettled-New-Jersey-Went-Bad
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