Afghan commando trained by US facing deportation after being detained at southern border
Sami-Ullah Safi, whose brother tried to cross into the U.S., discusses his brother's treatment as he waits in a Texas prison and seeks asylum.
An elite Afghan commando trained by U.S. forces has been imprisoned in Texas for crossing the southern border seeking asylum in the country he once fought alongside.
Abdul Wasi Safi went into hiding when the last U.S. plane left Afghanistan after Kabul's fall in August 2021 and ventured across two continents in hopes of earning a special immigrant visa to reside in the U.S. legally.
Instead, he was arrested at the border trying to cross the Rio Grande. With the Taliban hunting him, he could face certain death if his deportation is carried out.
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Photo of Abdul Wasi Safi, an US-trained special forces operative who escaped from Taliban control who is being detailed at the U.S. southern border after fleeing his home country. (Sami-ullah Safi )
"After the collapse of Afghanistan, it was very hard for my brother to survive and not be captured by the Taliban," Sami-ullah Safi, Wasi's brother and a former translator for U.S. troops, said Monday on "America's Newsroom."
"My brother had to go into hiding from one place to another and, finally, he was in a place where there was nowhere to hide… my brother knew that if he was captured he would be killed, immediately, just like so many other Afghan special forces."
Sami told anchor Dana Perino he is saddened by the animosity Wasi has received since being arrested at the southern border, adding that his brother expected to receive a hero's welcome upon arriving in the U.S. and proving his identity.
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Photo of Abdul Wasi Safi, a US-trained special forces operative who escaped from Taliban control and now awaits deportation at a Texas facility. (Sami-ullah Safi )
"Unfortunately, it was totally different to him when he arrived to the border. First, he had to pass all the countries from Brazil, making it to the United States, and basically going through all types of torture," Sami said.
Wasi was the only person in a group of over 100 migrants who was denied entry into the country that day, according to reports.
Instead, Sami said his brother was taken to another facility where he was "interrogated and investigated" by Border Patrol agents.
"He received the worst treatment that he never expected from a country that he fought alongside."
Photo of Abdul Wasi Safi, an US-trained special forces operative who escaped from Taliban control and was arrested while trying to enter the United States. (Sami-ullah Safi )
Sami said despite reaching out, he has yet to hear anything from Texas or federal officials regarding his brother's case.
"My brother fought alongside the same troops that you deployed to Afghanistan, and now he's facing deportation… he deserves recognition for his service," he said in a message to President Biden.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence, appearing later in the show, expressed his frustration with the treatment of Wasi.
"It is a confluence of ineptitude," he said. "I mean, to think about a heroic Afghani soldier who risked his life and his family's life to stand with our soldiers, being relegated to having to go to South America to join this massive movement north to the border, and then he's the one that we put in jail when he crosses the border. It really is extraordinary."
"I hope the administration is watching and moves quickly to remedy that situation with him. We owe a debt of honor and gratitude to every one of the Afghan soldiers that stood with the brave men and women that fought in Afghanistan on our behalf over those 20 years."
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The Department of Homeland Security has not answered Fox’s repeated requests for information on Wasi's case. The Justice Department has declined to comment. His next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, Liz Friden and Krista Garvin contributed to this report.
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