TARRANT COUNTY, TX – A Texas-based Afghan national was arrested earlier in November for allegedly making a terroristic bomb threat on the social media platform TikTok. This particular case has garnered significant attention in light of the D.C. shooting allegedly committed by another Afghan national, as the suspect in Texas was also admitted into the country under the same Biden-era program following the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
On November 25, Mohammad Alokozay was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after he allegedly made a post on TikTok implying he was making a bomb with the intention of setting it off within the Fort Worth area.
Alokozay’s arrest has managed to capture national attention because he was admitted into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, the same Biden-era program that 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the alleged D.C. shooter, benefited from. The timing of Alokozay’s arrest is also relevant, as he was taken into custody one day before the fatal shooting in the nation’s capital.
ABC News confirmed Alokozay is being held at the Tarrant County Jail on state charges of terrorism, with the county’s records noting that the suspect is being held without bond.
Considering the circumstances and proximity of these two cases, immigration attorney Jaime Barron believes there could be serious ramifications for public perception regarding overall immigration and asylum seekers.
“It's a very difficult situation, because the community at large sees one immigrant acting in a horrible situation like this,” Barron stated, adding, “and they assume there are many more that are just because they're immigrants, they want to harm the United States. And as we know, the vast majority of people who immigrate to the United States are because of their love for this country. But it severely affects the image of the immigrant coming to the United States.”
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, the Trump administration has already temporarily halted all asylum decisions in the wake of the D.C. terror attack, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow saying the asylum program will be suspended “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Barron, while slightly critical of the Trump administration’s suspension of certain visa programs and asylum decisions, admitted that “they have vast powers to control the immigration process, and if they believe there's a flawed program, they have the right to detain it temporarily while they investigate or [delay] it.”
On November 25, Mohammad Alokozay was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after he allegedly made a post on TikTok implying he was making a bomb with the intention of setting it off within the Fort Worth area.
Alokozay’s arrest has managed to capture national attention because he was admitted into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, the same Biden-era program that 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the alleged D.C. shooter, benefited from. The timing of Alokozay’s arrest is also relevant, as he was taken into custody one day before the fatal shooting in the nation’s capital.
ABC News confirmed Alokozay is being held at the Tarrant County Jail on state charges of terrorism, with the county’s records noting that the suspect is being held without bond.
Considering the circumstances and proximity of these two cases, immigration attorney Jaime Barron believes there could be serious ramifications for public perception regarding overall immigration and asylum seekers.
“It's a very difficult situation, because the community at large sees one immigrant acting in a horrible situation like this,” Barron stated, adding, “and they assume there are many more that are just because they're immigrants, they want to harm the United States. And as we know, the vast majority of people who immigrate to the United States are because of their love for this country. But it severely affects the image of the immigrant coming to the United States.”
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, the Trump administration has already temporarily halted all asylum decisions in the wake of the D.C. terror attack, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow saying the asylum program will be suspended “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Barron, while slightly critical of the Trump administration’s suspension of certain visa programs and asylum decisions, admitted that “they have vast powers to control the immigration process, and if they believe there's a flawed program, they have the right to detain it temporarily while they investigate or [delay] it.”
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