Texas Democrat hints at ‘major progress’ in Afghan soldier’s asylum case

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) stated on Tuesday that “main progress” in an asylum case for Afghan solider Abdul Wasi Safi is anticipated within the subsequent few days.

“Working with all of the federal businesses concerned and a top-notch authorized crew for Abdul Wasi Safi, I can be asserting that main progress is anticipated within the subsequent few days concerning the standing of Mr. Safi,” she stated in a statement on Twitter.

Wasi Safi was a soldier within the Afghan army who saved paperwork detailing how he labored with the U.S. army throughout his time within the army. He fled Afghanistan out of worry that the Taliban would punish him after the U.S. withdrew from the nation in August 2021, and crossed the U.S. border in September 2022.

All through his journey, he held on to the paperwork that proved his relationship with the U.S. army in hopes that the documentation would grant him asylum within the U.S.. However when he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border close to Eagle Cross, Texas, he was arrested on a federal immigration cost and is now being held in a detention heart in Eden, Texas.

Lee and different lawmakers, together with Republican Reps. Dan Crenshaw (Texas) and Michael Waltz (Fla.) have referred to as for Wasi Safi’s freedom whereas his asylum case is reviewed. A coalition of veterans teams called on the White Home to intervene in Wasi Safi’s case in December by granting him a parolee standing as he waits for a call on his asylum case.

Lee additionally despatched a letter to President Biden final week, urging him to pardon Wasi Safi of his immigration-related prices. Lee stated on Tuesday that Wasi Safi wants medical care, and that it’s “clear” that he assisted U.S. forces as an Afghan solider.

“It’s been a protracted journey and he has suffered lots and is in want of medical care,” she stated in her assertion. “It’s clear that in his capability as a member of the Afghan army, he helped American troopers. We’re trying ahead to serving to him as we search to free him and as he seeks asylum in america of America.”