Connect with us

Latest News

DHS review finds errors in 40% of Biden-era Afghan asylum files

Following a 2023 lawsuit against DHS, a settlement required USCIS to adjudicate 90% of OAW asylum applications within 150 days.

Published

on

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review has identified errors in 40% of the asylum files examined under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) programme, raising concerns about gaps in the screening and adjudication process.

According to a DHS statement, the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the programme between March 2024 and January 2025 after concerns that accelerated processing requirements could limit the ability of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to conduct comprehensive reviews.

The review found that USCIS missed opportunities in some cases to link aliases provided by applicants with other information that could potentially have affected their eligibility for asylum, DHS said.

Operation Allies Welcome was established under the Biden administration following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Under the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022, USCIS was required to interview OAW asylum applicants within 45 days of filing.

Following a 2023 lawsuit against DHS, a settlement required USCIS to adjudicate 90% of OAW asylum applications within 150 days.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the programme, saying established asylum-screening procedures had not been followed and arguing that the identified errors could create security risks.

The DHS statement cited several cases involving Afghan nationals admitted to the United States through OAW who were later arrested or charged.

These included an Afghan national arrested in November 2025 on federal charges of threatening to kill Americans; an individual identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an ISIS-K member who was arrested in December 2025; and another Afghan national arrested in March 2026 who had previously been convicted of indecent exposure involving a minor.

DHS said the findings demonstrate the need for stronger screening procedures in asylum processing.

The reported 40% error rate refers to errors identified in the asylum files reviewed by the OIG. It does not mean that 40% of the applicants were members of terrorist groups or had criminal records.

The findings and security concerns cited in the statement are those of DHS and its interpretation of the OIG review.

Latest News

Four members of one family killed in Helmand in Pakistan airstrike

The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.

Published

on

Four members of a family were killed and seven others wounded in an airstrike in Safar area of Garmser district in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, according to local reports.

The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.

The bodies of those killed and the wounded were transported by helicopter to Ghazni province for burial and medical treatment, according to the reports.

 

Continue Reading

Latest News

UNAMA acting chief visits Islam Qala border to assess support for returnees

UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.

Published

on

Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s acting head, visited western Afghanistan, including the Islam Qala border crossing, to see firsthand UN efforts to support millions of Afghans returning from neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

Earlier this year, the UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Trump: Unlike Afghanistan, US took all equipment from Iraq

Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.

Published

on

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday compared the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq with the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying military equipment had been left behind in Afghanistan, while US forces leaving Iraq took their equipment with them.

Speaking at a White House event, Trump referred to the final departure of US-led coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, which marked the end of the US military mission against Daesh in Iraq.

“I said, take a little longer. Take everyone. We left all of the equipment, if you remember, in Afghanistan. Everything was left behind,” Trump said.

“I said, ‘I want every screw taken. If there’s a screw lying on the ground, take it. If we have a canvas tent, take it.’ We took everything,” he added.

He also mentioned the August 2021 attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 US soldiers.

Trump said he had become acquainted with the families of the US service members killed in the attack and also highlighted those who were seriously wounded.

“What happened to those—to their children should never have been allowed to happen,” he said, adding that 48 wounded service members were severely injured and “never get mentioned.”

Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.

The US military announced on Wednesday that its forces and equipment had completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base, formally ending Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The US-led mission began in 2014 to fight Daesh after the group seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The US is continuing its counter-Daesh mission in Syria from a headquarters in Jordan.

Trump said the US had entered Iraq to fight the Islamic State and that the group no longer controlled a territorial “caliphate.”

“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home indeed,” he said.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Ariana News. All rights reserved!