Afghanistan evacuee accused of sexually assaulting 12-year-old New Mexico boy, punching child in the face: Officials
An Afghanistan national who escaped the Middle Eastern country during the Biden administration's tumultuous evacuation has been charged with a child sex crime and violent assault of a 12-year-old boy in New Mexico.
On Sept. 21, Shah Mahmood Selab, 35, was charged in federal court with coercion and enticement of a minor. Selab faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison if he is convicted.
On Aug. 12, Selab allegedly approached a 12-year-old boy at Youngs Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Selab reportedly conversed with the boy who was sitting on a bench at the park – located near a middle school.
"Selab began asking the victim personal questions, and then invited the victim to sit with him on another bench in the shade," the Department of Justice news release stated. "After moving to the other bench, Selab allegedly used his cellphone to show the victim photos and videos that were sexual in nature. Selab allegedly touched the victim inappropriately."
The boy attempted to walk away, but Selab followed him and "punched him in the face multiple times," according to the DOJ. The Afghan evacuee reportedly asked the boy to get into his vehicle and offered him $20 to allow Selab to touch him.
"The victim attempted to call 911 and retreated to the restrooms where he closed himself in a stall," the DOJ said. "The complaint alleges that Selab followed the victim into the restrooms and pulled him from the stall. Selab allegedly locked the restroom door to prevent the victim from leaving, began kissing the victim’s face, and put a $20 bill in the victim’s hand. Selab also allegedly attempted to force the victim to touch Selab."
Someone purportedly walked into the restroom and knocked on the door of the stall, which allowed the victim to escape Selab.
Fox News reported on Friday that Selab was an Afghanistan national – a detail that was not noted in the Department of Justice release. The outlet said, "Selab was paroled into the United States in November 2021."
The office of Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) confirmed with law enforcement that Selab was an Afghan national who was paroled into the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome – the Biden administration's effort to resettle Afghanistan nationals into the United States. An estimated 88,500 Afghanistan nationals were relocated to the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome after the botched Afghanistan evacuation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Selab was paroled into the U.S. on Nov. 18, 2021, at Philadelphia International Airport.
The National Immigration Forum defines parole as: "An available tool under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that allows certain individuals to enter the U.S. and temporarily stay without an immigrant or non-immigrant visa."
Upon hearing of the accused crime, ICE lodged a detainer on Selab, who the agency confirmed was a 35-year-old Afghan national, after his arrest.
ICE lodges detainers on "individuals who have been arrested on criminal charges and who ICE has probable cause to believe are removable non-citizens."
ICE said in a statement, "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is committed to safe and effective enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws and continues to focus its limited resources on the cases of greatest importance to national interest and public safety."
Herrell told Fox News, "This is a terrible crime, enabled by the complete lack of vetting and transparency in the wake of Joe Biden’s Afghanistan retreat. Our government should be protecting the families of New Mexico, not importing twisted individuals who prey on children. That is why last year I pushed for thorough vetting of migrants that the Biden administration has brought to our communities, and why I continue to fight for accountability."
Earlier this month, the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the department granted parole to Afghan evacuees who "were not fully vetted" following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees," read the report by DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari. "We determined some information used to vet evacuees through U.S. Government databases, such as name, date of birth, identification number, and travel document data, was inaccurate, incomplete, or missing."
The investigation found that because of the lack of vetting, "DHS may have admitted or paroled individuals into the United States who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities."
St. Louis hopes to boost its population by importing Afghan refugees
The city of St. Louis, Missouri hopes to grow its population by luring Afghan refugees to settle in the city so that it can offset its 70 years of population loss.
The Associated Press reported that there is an “aggressive effort” within the city to attract large swaths of the more than 76,000 Afghans who fled their country after its capital city of Kabul was ceded to the Taliban.
Currently, the city is home to about 600 Afghan refugees and another 750 are expected to arrive later this year.
The Associated Press reported various city and community leaders are “hopeful that over the next few years, thousands more will decide to relocate” to St. Louis and “offset seven decades of population loss.”
Reportedly, city officials see courting Afghan refugees as crucial to beginning a process of urban rejuvenation similar to how the arrival of Bosnian refugees spurred along a similar process in the 1990s.
In the 1990s, St. Louis was the most popular destination for Bosnians who were displaced by the war in the former Balkan nation of Yugoslavia. Of the estimated 300,000 Bosnian refugees who sought entry into the U.S., roughly 40,000 now call the greater-St. Louis region their home.
The St. Louis Afghan Resettlement Initiative is backed by more than $1 million in donations and has more than 800 volunteers at its disposal. The initiative has support from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, the International Institute of St. Louis, and other nonprofit groups throughout the city.
Reportedly, advocates for the refugee resettlement initiative haven’t encountered any opposition.
Jerry Schlichter, an attorney who is an organizer and major funder of the program, said that the initiative will help Afghan refugees find housing and jobs, connect newly arrived refugees with professional development resources such as classes on computer coding, and will provide them with grants for business startups.
Schlichter said, “There’s a mutual need. We have been stagnant. With this one-time opportunity with Afghan refugees ending up somewhere in this country, we should take advantage of it.”
Arrey Obenson, the president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, said that he is confident the new refugees will revitalize the city’s neighborhoods.
“The reality of the circumstance we face is that if we look at St. Louis city and the rate the population is declining, we have to find a way to bring people into the community to turn that around,” Obenson said.
Veterans' group Project Dynamo evacuates 23, including children, from Afghanistan
A private, nonprofit veterans' group working to rescue Americans and refugees from Afghanistan pulled off its fifth operation over the weekend, evacuating 23 people from the Taliban-controlled country.
The group, Project Dynamo, is the joint project of two veterans' coalitions, Digital Dunkirk and Dynamo II, based in Tampa, Florida. Digital Dunkirk works to locate at-risk individuals and transport them to temporary safer locations, where they await rescue from Afghanistan. Dynamo II is the air operation, which gets them out of the country.
"We pull Americans, allies and vulnerable Afghans in Afghanistan from the clutches of the Taliban and bring them to safety," Project Dynamo co-founder Bryan Stern told WTVT-TV in an interview.
When President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August, thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies were left behind. The Taliban, an Islamic terrorist group, quickly seized control of the country and began persecuting those who had aided U.S. military operations during the 20-year war in the country, as well as Christians.
Attempts by the U.S. government to evacuate those who wanted to leave Afghanistan were chaotic, and the Biden administration has frustrated lawmakers by refusing to be transparent about the exact number of Americans and allies stranded in the country. Complicating matters is the fact that the Taliban is the new government of Afghanistan, and it has made it difficult for people to leave the country.
In response to the government's ineptness, private groups like Project Dynamo stepped forward to assist the evacuation efforts.
"The humanitarian crisis is real and the economic crisis is real, and you can't get money," Stern explained to WTVT.
It's a volunteer effort. None of the people working with Project Dynamo are tied to the U.S. government, though many are veterans of U.S. armed forces. In the five months since Biden pulled out of Afghanistan, these patriots have used their contacts in Afghanistan to organize the rescue of thousands of people from the grip of the Taliban, the outlet reported.
"The vast majority of the American citizens went to Afghanistan for a wedding or for a death in the family or their mother was sick or some personal thing," Stern said.
The State Department is critical of efforts by private citizens to move evacuees out of Afghanistan. Officials told Defense One earlier this month that any independent actors who run evacuation operations outside established agreements between the U.S. and the Taliban risk causing a diplomatic incident that could harm long-term efforts to save people.
But the Biden administration's hesitancy to support private rescue efforts hasn't stopped Project Dynamo.
Last Thursday, the team met in Kabul and boarded a plane Friday morning, reaching New York Saturday night. They brought the 23 evacuees, nearly half of whom were children, with them.
"I've been with the most elite units in the U.S. arsenal, and this by far is the most amazing, impactful team that has left their mark on America more than anything I’ve ever done," Stern said.
"As long as people need help, and as long as we have funding, we will continue to operate," he added.
President Biden left 14,000 US residents behind in Afghanistan after promising to get every American out: Report
The Biden administration has left behind as many as 14,000 U.S. legal permanent residents in Afghanistan after President Joe Biden repeatedly promised that he would not leave any Americans behind after the U.S. withdrew troops from the country.
Following the Pentagon's disclosure last week that 439 American citizens are still in Afghanistan, a new report from Foreign Policy indicates thousands more U.S. green card holders are still stranded in the Taliban-controlled country.
The finding, disclosed by a congressional aide familiar with the matter, has been transmitted by the State Department to aides on Capitol Hill in private, but officials demurred on revealing the figure when questioned by Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, insisting the agency doesn't track the figure.
"Isn't the operating assumption about 14,000?" Republican Rep. Chris Smith asked Brian McKeon, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, at a hearing on Wednesday, referring to the figure briefed in private.
"We don't track [legal permanent residents]," McKeon responded. "It's a good question why we don't," he added, suggesting the lack of clarity might be because the State Department does not require Americans and legal permanent residents traveling abroad to report their whereabouts.
According to McKeon's testimony Wednesday, there are still 289 U.S. citizens in Afghanistan as of Tuesday and another 81 Americans who are ready to evacuate the country. McKeon said the Biden administration got 140 Americans out last week.
Foreign Policy reported that the State Department is prioritizing American citizens for evacuation over legal permanent residents and green card holders. In a statement, the State Department said there is no exact tally of U.S. legal permanent residents in Afghanistan.
"We do not have an exact number of LPRs and their immediate family members who have departed or who remain in Afghanistan," a spokesperson said. "In this extraordinary situation we are facing in Afghanistan, we have helped LPRs seeking assistance to depart wherever possible."
Foreign Policy noted that lawmakers have expressed frustration with the Biden administration for being opaque about the exact number of citizens, legal permanent residents, and Afghan allies of the U.S. who were left behind. Administration officials have responded by saying the number is in constant flux as more people are coming forward with a desire to leave the country.
On Aug. 19, Biden told ABC News: "If there are American citizens left, we're going to stay until we get them all out."
U.S. troops were withdrawn on Aug. 31. At the time, Biden estimated there were 100 to 200 Americans remaining in Afghanistan who wanted to leave.
Again on Sept. 5, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said about 100 Americans were still in Afghanistan who wanted to leave.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter echoed that estimate on Sept. 10.
But one month later in October, the Pentagon clarified there were actually more than 400 American citizens still in the country.
Now it's revealed that 14,000 green card holders are still trapped in Afghanistan, people who can apply for U.S. citizenship and enjoy many of the same rights as citizens with the exception of the right to vote.
The rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as U.S. forces withdrew obviously complicated evacuation efforts. But the responsibility for failing to get thousands of American citizens and legal permanent residents out of the country before U.S. forces withdrew lies squarely with the Biden administration.
www.theblaze.com