Federal officials say a 44-year-old Afghan man who received asylum in 2021 and later landed a conviction in a child-abuse case is back behind bars in Jacksonville after his immigration status was stripped. The Department of Homeland Security has identified him as Basir Ahmad Safi and says he was arrested earlier this month. Safi is now in ICE custody while officials move to deport him. Court records show he pleaded guilty to child abuse in 2024 and was sentenced to 353 days in county jail, followed by 19 months of probation.
What DHS says
In a public statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Safi entered the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, then later became the focus of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. DHS officials say HSI Jacksonville coordinated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on an operation that led to his March 11 arrest and the revocation of his immigration status, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Arrest records and charges
Court and booking records show the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office first arrested Safi in September 2023 on charges that included lewd or lascivious exhibition, soliciting a child via computer, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and child abuse. Detectives reported recovering WhatsApp messages written in Dari that were translated during the investigation. In one message, he allegedly wrote, “Even if you complain to your parents about me, I will still force you to have sex with me.” The underlying arrest and booking documents are part of the public record, according to Scribd.
Agency language and local reaction
Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis used unusually sharp language in the DHS release, writing, “This unvetted Afghan pedophile was let into our country by the Biden administration,” and arguing he should never have had the chance to target children. The same report points to court records showing Safi’s 2024 guilty plea and his 353-day county jail sentence plus 19 months of probation. Local officials quickly highlighted the case in ongoing debates about vetting standards and immigration enforcement, according to WKMG ClickOrlando.
Legal status and next steps
DHS says Safi’s asylum status has now been revoked and that he will remain in ICE custody while immigration authorities pursue his removal from the United States. Separate state court records from last year, along with any outstanding warrants, will continue to sit in his criminal file as the removal case plays out, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Context: vetting and resettlement
Operation Allies Welcome was the federal effort to resettle thousands of Afghans following the chaotic 2021 withdrawal, and incidents like this one have repeatedly been pulled into the broader fight over vetting and long-term oversight. Reporting on the program notes that tens of thousands of Afghans came in through various humanitarian pathways and that the rapid pace of evacuations raised concerns about potential gaps in screening, as Al Jazeera has reported.
Federal and local officials say they plan to keep sharing evidence with prosecutors and immigration authorities while both the criminal and immigration systems review Safi’s case. For now, the DHS release and the local arrest records remain the key public documents, and this story is expected to develop as agencies make more records available.
