In the wake of the recent shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan national suspect, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly increased arrests of Afghan immigrants across the country, immigration lawyers say.
The new wave of enforcement has sent shockwaves through Afghan communities, particularly in Northern California, as families who had previously complied with all legal requirements now face detention.
Giselle Garcia, a volunteer who has been assisting Afghan families with resettlement, described the anxiety experienced by one family she helped. On a recent afternoon, she drove the father to a check-in with ICE in California’s capital city and warned him to prepare for the worst.
“The moment the father stepped into the ICE office, he was arrested,” Garcia said. “He was trying to be strong for his wife and kids in the car, but the anxiety and fear were palpable. His wife was trying to hold back tears, but I could see her in the rearview mirror silently crying.”
The family had fled Afghanistan after the wife’s father, who had assisted the U.S. military, faced threats from the Taliban. They had sought asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and had been compliant with all immigration procedures, Garcia explained. For safety reasons, she is not revealing their identities.
Surge in Arrests After Shooting
Since the November 26 National Guard shooting, roughly two dozen arrests of Afghan immigrants, most of them occurring in Northern California. In Sacramento, home to one of the nation’s largest Afghan communities, volunteers monitoring ICE activities report witnessing at least nine arrests at the federal building after Afghan men were asked to check in.
Many of those detained had requested asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border in the last two years. Others were among the 76,000 Afghans brought to the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, a program created during the Biden administration to assist those evacuated after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted on December 1 that the Trump administration is “actively reexamining” all Afghan nationals who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in an email, “The agency has been going full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and criminal illegal aliens that came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs and working to get the criminals and public safety threats OUT of our country.”
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan suspect in the shooting, was granted asylum earlier this year according to advocacy group #AfghanEvac.
Criticism of the Enforcement Sweep
Immigration advocates argue that the crackdown unfairly targets the broader Afghan community for the actions of one individual. Since the shooting, the U.S. government has paused asylum applications and imposed increased vetting on immigrants from certain countries, including Afghans who assisted U.S. military operations.
“Not to discount the horrific killing that happened, but that was one bad actor who should be prosecuted by the full extent of the law,” said Democratic Representative Ami Bera, whose California district includes Sacramento. “A lot of these people kept our troops safe and served side by side with our soldiers for two decades in Afghanistan.”
In Sacramento, Afghan men were called to report to the ICE office on December 1. Volunteers who have been monitoring the federal building for over six months noted that men arrived one by one, often with ankle monitors, only to be handcuffed upon entry.
“What we saw on Monday was an influx of Afghan immigrants called randomly starting at 6 a.m. and asked to do a check-in and report immediately,” Garcia said. “Most of these Afghan men already had ankle monitors on them.” Her organization witnessed six arrests that day.
Fear and Disruption in Daily Life
In Des Moines, Iowa, Ann Naffier from the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice described her Afghan client’s detention. He was stopped on his way to work and labeled a “terrorist” by ICE agents. He was held for two hours before being released with an apology.
Northern California immigration attorney Wahida Noorzad said two of her Afghan clients were arrested by ICE last week, even though they entered the U.S. through legal channels and had strong cases for asylum. Another attorney, Spojmie Nasiri, said she received numerous calls from terrified Afghans, including one who spoke on speakerphone while agents were outside his home.
Iqbal Wafa, an Afghan immigration consultant in Sacramento, also reported that officials told his client that interviews for Afghans were canceled, observing similar cancellations inside the federal building.
The enforcement actions have left many Afghan families living in fear. Volunteers and advocates stress that the crackdown is affecting people who risked their lives to assist U.S. forces and now face detention, despite their compliance with immigration laws.
The recent ICE actions highlight the tension between national security concerns and the treatment of vulnerable immigrant populations. Afghan families who sought safety in the United States now confront an uncertain future in the country they once helped defend.
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