Joshua and Stephanie Mast adopted the orphaned daughter of Al-Qaeda foreign fighters after U.S. soldiers found her as the sole survivor of a close-combat clash in Afghanistan in 2019.
The Masts detailed their years-long, ongoing legal battle to retain custody of their 5-year-old daughter on this week's episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast."
— (@)
The child, an infant at the time, miraculously survived a battle between Al-Qaeda foreign fighters and U.S. Army Rangers. Her suspected biological father died during the "brutal close combat" that lasted over an hour and a half, according to Joshua. The girl's suspected mother detonated explosives strapped to her chest while holding her newborn.
"[The foreign terrorists] did a series of what they call 'barricaded shooters,' so it is a suicidal terrorist who will barricade themselves in — with the presence of their family in a room — and engage whoever's coming in that room and not surrender no matter what. They will even blow up their families rather than surrender," Joshua stated.
'They were probably sent forward by the Taliban shadow government to collect her from the Americans.'
He detailed where his daughter was recovered during the battle, explaining that U.S. soldiers and an Afghan partner unit — after running out of breaching explosives — used what he stated was essentially a bazooka to "blow a hole in the final room to clear it of the remaining terrorists."
Joshua stated that the blast was believed to have killed the girl's biological father.
"The Ranger testified under oath that he observed what ended up being her biological mother run out of that hole that they created, screaming at him," he continued.
According to the testimony, Joshua stated that the mother, while holding her daughter, detonated an explosive device secured to her chest.
"She was about 6 weeks old," Joshua said, referring to the child. "She suffered a fractured skull, a fractured left femur so bad they had to put a rod in to put it back together, and second-degree burns on her face and neck."
He stated that the Afghan partner force fighting alongside the Rangers pushed for the infant to be killed, fearing she would become a terrorist.
"They sustained a casualty and were very angry about that. They literally came to our Rangers, and they're like, 'Let us shoot her in the head. ... Let's just throw her in the creek,'" Joshua told Beck. "Our guys physically resisted murdering our little girl."
The Masts fought for the child, whom they refer to as Baby Sparrow, to receive a visa and relocate to the U.S. to receive treatment for her ongoing medical needs. However, the Masts said they faced considerable opposition despite obtaining all the documentation required to secure custody.
Joshua expressed concern that the child was not an Afghan native and therefore should not have been turned over to an orphanage in Afghanistan. He was also worried that the child would be placed with relatives who would similarly bring her into a war zone.
He explained that the peace deal between the U.S. and Afghanistan "blew up" around September 2019. Amid attempts to renegotiate, the Taliban denied that the Al-Qaeda foreign fighter group to which the child's parents belonged had a presence in Afghanistan.
Joshua stated that the Taliban has a "strategic interest" in the situation, noting that several individuals came forward claiming to be related to the child but failed genetic testing.
"Two days before the peace deal's signed, the U.S. government, through the embassy's representations, turns her over to an unvetted, what's turned out to be a nonrelative, terrorist-affiliated person. The guy's got a Taliban flag on his WhatsApp profile," Joshua told Beck.
He added that the young Afghan couple who is trying to take custody of Baby Sparrow has refused to take a DNA test to prove their relation.
The Masts gained custody of the child following the Biden administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 after they helped the child and the young couple escape.
Although Baby Sparrow has been with the Masts since then, the Afghan couple persists in seeking her return.
"When we did get her finally, she wasn't the same baby as she was in the hospital," Stephanie stated. "When I saw her for the first time, I actually wondered if it was the same child because her face was closed off. She was very fearful and scared. She would hardly look up."
"The fear and trauma in her face, I've never seen that in a child before," she added. "When she came home, she had lice, parasites, emotional trauma, just everything."
The Masts explained that their adoption case is before the Virginia Supreme Court as they continue to battle to maintain custody of the child.
"These are not relatives. They probably knew they were not from day one. They were probably sent forward by the Taliban shadow government to collect her from the Americans," Joshua told Beck.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
A refugee from Afghanistan living in Michigan is in police custody after he allegedly stabbed his caseworker multiple times.
Around 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about a vicious stabbing in an upscale neighborhood in Orion Township, about 40 miles north of Detroit. The suspect then fled the scene in his vehicle but was soon apprehended.
It turns out that the suspect is a refugee from Afghanistan, and the man he stabbed is a caseworker for a company that helps refugees resettle in Michigan. Authorities do not believe anyone else was involved.
The victim suffered "multiple stab wounds," Sheriff Mike Bouchard said, and was immediately taken into surgery. While his injuries have been described as "very serious," thankfully, his condition is reportedly improving.
The names of the suspect and victim have not been released. It is unclear when the suspect arrived in America and what his current immigration status is.
"We don’t know specifically what his complaint was or his motive was," Sheriff Bouchard said of the stabbing suspect in Michigan. Whatever his reasons, he apparently attacked someone who Bouchard said was just "trying to do their job, which is to help that person assimilate."
Whatever his reasons, he apparently attacked someone who Bouchard said was just 'trying to do their job, which is to help that person assimilate.'
The violent incident comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program. The order then resulted in canceled flights to the U.S. for thousands of prospective refugees from around the world — including Afghanistan — as Blaze News previously reported.
The EO claimed that continued refugee resettlements are not currently in the best interest of America or Americans.
"The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees," it read in part.
As might be expected, liberal media outlets responded to the EO and the canceled flights by sharing sob stories about America-aligned Afghanis stranded at home or in third-party countries.
"We know this means that unaccompanied children, (Afghan) partner forces who trained, fought, and died or were injured alongside our troops, and families of active-duty U.S. service members are going to be stuck," Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, told Reuters.
While the media caterwauled about the plight of foreigners abroad, it appears at least one who managed to make his way to America attacked one of the people trying to help him get settled here.
Elias Muawad, a criminal defense attorney who specializes in immigration issues, indicated to FOX 2 that many refugees living in America have not been thoroughly vetted.
"I’m not going to tell you that it happens all the time," Muawad said, referring to the incident in Michigan, "but statistically you don’t know who these people are. You don’t know what kind of criminal record they have. You don’t know what mental health issues they had."
"The biggest issue for a lot of these immigrants is claiming asylum," he added. "And they have to prove to the immigration judge that if they go back to their country, they are going to be in fear of death or serious injury."
"It’s hard to prove."
The suspect in Michigan is not the only Afghan refugee to be accused of a heinous crime lately. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year-old Afghan citizen living in Oklahoma City, was arrested after the Justice Department foiled his "plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day," then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement in early October.
Just a few weeks before Tawhedi was charged, then-candidate Trump slammed the Biden-Harris administration for importing perhaps "thousands of terrorists" following the disastrous withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021:
Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the Military before the citizens. Now we are learning that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans. You can be sure the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn't allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights. Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighborhoods around the world. ... What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don’t know!
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Leftist media outlets are throwing a fit now that the Trump administration has canceled flights of refugees hoping to make their way to the United States.
On the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, the White House released an executive order which suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program "until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States."
According to the EO, American cities large and small have been overrun by "significant influxes of migrants" that require the redirection of precious resources and that threaten the security and stability of local residents.
"It is the policy of the United States to ensure that public safety and national security are paramount considerations in the administration of the USRAP," the EO continued.
The EO called for involving local and state leaders in decisions about refugee settlements and promised to review possible exceptions to the suspension "on a case-by-case basis." The suspension goes into effect just after midnight on January 27.
'Thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution ... are now stranded at various locations worldwide.'
In addition to suspending USRAP, the Trump administration has also canceled the flights of prospective refugees still waiting to come to the U.S.
"All previously scheduled travel of refugees to the United States is being cancelled, and no new travel bookings will be made. [Resettlement support centers] should not request travel for any additional refugee cases at this time," said a memo from the State Department obtained by CNN.
The canceled flights will affect an estimated 10,000 foreigners, some of "whose medical exams or security checks, for example, are on the cusp of expiring," CNN repined.
Not to be outdone, the Associated Press bewailed that "thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution and had gone through a sometimes yearslong process to start new lives in America are now stranded at various locations worldwide."
While a breakdown of the countries of origin of these prospective refugees is not available, CNN claimed that refugees to America typically come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, Syria, Burma, and Afghanistan.
Because of the deadly, disastrous withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan under the Biden administration, several media outlets have focused mainly on the canceled traveled plans of approximately 1,660 Afghanis.
"The U.S. decision also leaves in limbo thousands of other Afghans who have been approved for resettlement as refugees in the U.S. but have not yet been assigned flights from Afghanistan or from neighboring Pakistan," Reuters said in an exclusive report, citing Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The president will reconsider the suspension on refugee resettlements in the future if doing so 'is in the interests of the United States.'
Reuters then tugged at readers' heartstrings by lamenting the unaccompanied minors, family members of active U.S. military servicemen and women, and the "unknown number of Afghans who fought for the former U.S.-backed Kabul government" who may not be able to move to the U.S. as planned.
However, CNN mentioned that those in possession of a Special Immigrant Visa would likely still be able to travel to the U.S. despite the suspension of refugees. SIVs are available to "persons who worked with the U.S. Armed Forces or under Chief of Mission authority as a translator or interpreter in Iraq or Afghanistan," so those without one presumably do not qualify for an SIV or failed to acquire one in the years since those conflicts began or in the nearly three and a half years since the Afghanistan withdrawal.
CNN also noted that at least some of these refugees have already flown to third-party countries and may not be able to return to their country of origin. "It is not clear what is going to happen to those individuals," one government official told the outlet. "They could be stuck there, we don’t know for how long."
Though the liberal media attempts to spin the story as evidence of Trump's heartlessness, Trump's EO makes plain that his heart remains first and always with the American people. The EO claims the president will reconsider the suspension on refugee resettlements in the future if doing so "is in the interests of the United States."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
CNN was found liable on Friday for defaming U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young. Following roughly eight hours of deliberations, jurors found CNN both “committed defamation per se” and “committed defamation by implication.” Jurors awarded Young $4 million in economic damages and $1 million in emotional damages and agreed that punitive damages are warranted, prompting phase […]
www.theblaze.com
www.theblaze.com