Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06) has issued a statement following the arrest of Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national, in Waynesboro, Virginia. The Department of Homeland Security reported that Safi, who entered the United States under the Biden Administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” was taken into federal custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Cline expressed his appreciation for law enforcement involved in the arrest. “I am grateful to the ICE agents and the local law enforcement officers whose professionalism led to the arrest of this dangerous individual. This incident happened right here in our own community, and it underscores the real-world consequences of the Biden Administration’s failure to properly vet the nearly 190,000 Afghan nationals released into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome. Republicans warned from the start that border security is national security, and every community has felt the impacts of the Biden-Harris border crisis,” said Rep. Cline.
He continued: “The people of Virginia’s Sixth District deserve confidence that anyone entering this country has been thoroughly vetted. I appreciate President Trump and Secretary Noem for acting swiftly to end Temporary Protected Status for unvetted Afghan nationals and for restoring policies that put the safety of the American people first.”
Ben Cline has represented Virginia’s 6th district in Congress since 2019, succeeding Bob Goodlatte. He previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2018. Before his time in Congress, Cline worked as an attorney in private practice and as an assistant prosecutor. He was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1972 and currently lives with his family in Fincastle.