Miles from Nation's Capital, ICE Arrests ISIS-K Afghan Terrorist Who Was Released into the U.S. Under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome

This marks the third Afghan national terrorist arrested in recent days that was brought into the country by the Biden Administration under Operation Allies Welcome

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem today announced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrested Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national who entered the United States under Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” who provided support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan (ISIS-K). He also provided weapons to his father who is a commander of a militia group in Afghanistan. This terrorist was arrested in Waynesboro, Virginia.

Safi is an illegal alien terrorist who entered the U.S. on September 8, 2021, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome.  He applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) but his application was terminated once Secretary Noem ended TPS for Afghans. On December 3, 2025, under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE arrested Safi.

Jaan Shah Safi

“Today, our heroic ICE officers arrested Jaan Shah Safi, a terrorist who provided material support to ISIS-K. The Biden administration brought this terrorist into the U.S. under the disastrous Operation Allies Welcome program. This terrorist was arrested miles from our nation’s capital where our brave National Guard heroes, Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, were shot just days ago by another unvetted Afghan terrorist brought into our country,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “The Biden administration created one of the worst national security crises in American history. Biden let into our country nearly 190,000 unvetted Afghan aliens — only determining who they were and their intentions when they were already on American soil. President Trump has been working every day since January 20 to clean up this unmitigated national security crisis.”

The Biden administration relied on unvetted referrals to admit nearly 190,000 Afghan nationals into the U.S. Understanding this massive threat to American national security, the Trump administration halted Afghan refugee resettlement on January 20. President Trump also suspended entry of Afghan nationals. The protection and safety of Americans and our homeland will remain our singular focus and mission.

This marks the third arrest of an Afghan national terrorist released into the country by the Biden administration in less than a week.

On November 26, 2025, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was also released into the country under Operation Allies Welcome, committed a  terror and ambush-style attack on two National Guard members blocks away from the White House.

On November 25, one day before the attack, Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, who was also released into the U.S. under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, was arrested by local authorities and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force for making bomb threats in Fort Worth, Texas. Mohammad Dawood Alokozay posted a video of himself on TikTok indicating he was building a bomb with an intended target in the Fort Worth area. Alokozay was charged with making terroristic threats.

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