Afghan soldier seeking US asylum hopes for 'American dream'
HOUSTON (AP) — In the months he was held in detention in Texas during his legal fight to remain in the U.S., Afghan soldier Abdul Wasi Safi thought he would eventually be returned to his home country and meet a likely death at the hands of the Taliban because of his work with the U.S. military.
But on Friday, he stood a free man, filled with hope that the help he provided the U.S. military would ultimately help him secure asylum in the U.S. Amid hugs from his brother and lawyers, Wasi Safi proudly smiled as he received an award from one of his supporters — Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat from Houston— that honored his military service to the U.S. He said he hoped that would be a harbinger of things to come for him in his new life in the United States.
“I am hopeful about the next step in this process and one day being able to live the American dream,” Wasi Safi said at a news conference in Houston on Friday.
For the past few months, Wasi Safi, 27, had been jailed by federal authorities after being arrested while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in September near Eagle Pass, Texas. An intelligence officer for the Afghan National Security Forces, he had fled Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021, fearing reprisals from the Taliban. After making his way last year to Brazil, he started a months-long journey to the U.S. in summer 2022, crossing 10 countries on his treacherous trek.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/afghan-soldier-seeking-us-asylum-hopes-for-american-dream/ar-AA16Paog
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