Afghan migrant on terror watch list spent a YEAR in US after being released by Border Patrol

An Afghan migrant on the terror watch list spent a year in the United States after he was released by the Border Patrol.

Mohammad Kharwin, 48, a member of the ‘virulently anti-Western’ group, was apprehended illegally crossing into San Ysidro, California, in March 2023.

But he was cut loose and allowed to roam the country after a judge declared he was not a national security threat. NBC News.

Nearly a year later, the FBI notified Immigrations and Customs Enforcement that he was a suspected member of the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group Hezb-e-Islami (HIG).

Kharwin was at large awaiting an immigration hearing in 2025 when he was finally taken into custody in February.

The National Counterterrorism Center says HIG is responsible for the deaths of several Americans and runs on ‘virulent anti-Western’ ideology.

They were behind attacks that killed at least nine US soldiers and civilians from 2013 to 2015.

It is yet another shocking indictment of the situation at the border, which has seen numerous terror suspects enter the United States and seen a historic increase in crossings since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

Border agents took Kharwin into custody and initially held him because he matched the information of a suspected terrorist.

But officials lacked the evidence they needed to keep him in custody and referred him to ICE’s alternatives to detention program.

Mohammad Kharwin, 48, a member of the ‘virulently anti-Western’ group, was apprehended illegally crossing into San Ysidro, California, in March 2023 (stock photo)

Nearly a year later, the FBI notified Immigrations and Customs Enforcement that he was a suspected member of the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group Hezb-e-Islami (HIG). Migrants are seen at a crossing in El Paso, Texas, last month

He was assigned to check in with border agents by phone. Kharwin could then apply for asylum, get work and then use domestic flights in the US

The judge placed no restrictions on his movements and only required him to return to appear in court a year later.

The Department of Homeland Security told NBC News that Customs and Border Protection did not ‘knowingly’ release someone on the terror watch list.

At the time of the first meeting, the information in the medical record could not have provided a conclusive match,” a spokesman said.

“As soon as there was information indicating that this individual was of concern, he was taken into custody by ICE. Law enforcement has been following the case closely to protect against risks to public safety.

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