ALEXANDRIA, VA - This is something straight out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. In August 2023, Shafi Amani paid a total of $600 to a Mexican woman to smuggle him, his wife, and his daughter across the US-Mexico border, WYPR reported. Amani, an Afghan refugee, fled Afghanistan after the Biden administration abandoned the country and ended up in Pakistan.
Amani’s daughter, Yousra, became ill while in Pakistan, where doctors said the three-year-old had suffered a stroke. Amani decided she would receive better medical care in Mexico.
After realizing Mexico wasn’t the place for his family, he fled to the United States. Despite having what WYPR called a “dim view of the United States” due to feeling the United States “abandoned the Afghans,” he nonetheless ended up here. Since his daughter was undergoing a “medical emergency,” they were allowed to remain in the country, albeit illegally, and relocated to Northern Virginia, home to a large Afghan community.
Since Amani was not part of the American airlift that evacuated Afghani refugees, he was unable to get government assistance, Medicaid, or a work permit because he entered the country illegally.
What makes this story more remarkable is that less than four months after entering the United States illegally, Amani allegedly started a licensed armed services company in Virginia. This was someone who reportedly entered the country illegally, couldn’t get a social security number, and would seem to be unable to obtain a security clearance.
Yet somehow, Amani is allegedly licensed (DCJS ID: 11-21113) for the following: Personal Protection Specialist, Security Officers/Couriers, Electronic Security Services, Private Investigator, Locksmith, Armored Car Personnel, and Security Canine.
Law Enforcement Today was contacted by a concerned party who told us about this apparent glitch in Virginia’s licensing requirements for security companies. They were asked how someone who is in the country illegally was able to pass a background check.
The whistleblower told LET, "From my understanding, when the DCJS changed their screening process a few years ago, it left a loophole. Someone doesn't have to be here legally or authorized to work, as long as they have a SSN or other Gov issued ID# issued to them at some point and there’s no criminal record, then they’re cleared. See, the FBI background check doesn’t cover a person’s legal status (just criminal history). That clean record then gets sent back to DCJS…"
The most egregious matter about this situation is that as a licensed security company, they can place US citizens under arrest pursuant to the Code of Virginia, § 9.1-146, Limitation on powers of registered armed security officers. Under that section:
A registered armed security officer of a private security business while at a location which the business is contracted to protect shall have the power to effect an arrest for an offense occurring (i) in his presence on such premises or (ii) in the presence of a merchant, agent, or employee of the merchant the private security business has contracted to protect if the merchant, agent, or employee had probable cause to believe that the person arrested had shoplifted or committed wilful concealment of goods as contemplated by § 18.2-106. For the purposes of § 19.2-74, a registered armed security officer of a private security services business shall be considered an arresting officer.
In other words, a person who broke the law to enter the United States now has statutory authority to deprive American citizens of their liberty. Moreover, security companies are not beholden to the same restrictions placed on individual purchasers, and those firearms can be “issued” to anyone whom he wishes (employees).
If we take this to its most absurd level, what would happen if a member of a criminal gang, such as the violent Tren de Aragua gang, who happened to fly under the radar, was somehow able to obtain such a license? There is an apparent problem with Virginia Commonwealth law.
One illegal alien, who happened to have an interesting story but is nonetheless in the country illegally, was allegedly able to game the system and obtain an armed security company license. Other than the story he told WYPR, nothing is known about his background in Afghanistan. He could be a wonderful person. He could also have skeletons in his closet. None of that is known, but it is incumbent upon the Commonwealth of Virginia to protect American citizens.
LET has reached out to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for comment. This story will update if we hear back.
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