OAN’s James Meyers
2:42 PM – Friday, April 12, 2024
An Afghan national who is on the U.S. terror watchlist was put back in custody on Friday, according to the Department of Homeland Security, after he was captured at the U.S.-Mexico border and released twice into U.S. territory.
Mohammed Kharwin is a member of Hezb-e-Islami, a group responsible for attacks in Afghanistan that killed at least nine American soldiers and civilians from 2013 to 2015, the terror watchlist indicates, according to NBC.
Customs and Border Protection agents apprehended and released Kharwin, after he illegally entered the U.S. near San Ysidro, California, in March of 2023, despite suspicions that he was on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist.
Close to a year later, in February 2024, the FBI notified ICE that Kharwin was a suspected member of the designated foreign terror group Hezb-e-Islami, or HIG.
HIG, which does their operations out of Afghanistan and Pakistan, is described by the National Counterterrorism Center as a “virulently anti-Western insurgent group” who is known to have killed several U.S. soldiers and American contractors.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement was notified, and ICE arrested him in San Antonio in February.
During a court appearance two weeks ago, DHS prosecutors did not tell the federal immigration judge that Kharwin was on the terror watch list or could be a national threat, only arguing he was a possible flight risk.
The judge ordered him to be released on bond, according to multiple sources close to the matter.
Meanwhile, Kharwin has been taken into custody again with a court appearance set for 2025.
According to Fox News, late Thursday night “law enforcement has been tracking the matter closely to protest against public safety risks” and “the individual is currently in U.S. custody.”
“DHS takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that those who enter the country don’t pose a threat to our national security. If an individual poses a threat to national security or public safety, we deny admission, detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting, investigation and/or prosecution as appropriate,” a DHS spokesperson also said. “Vetting is a point-in-time check that evaluates information available to the U.S. Government at that time. If individuals who have entered the country are later found to be associated with information indicating a potential national security or public safety concern, DHS and our federal partners have procedures in place to investigate and take appropriate act.”
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