U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it had discovered “significant national security and public safety risks” in U.S. vetting processes, calling the system “wholly inadequate,” just days before two relatives of slain terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani were taken into custody in Los Angeles.
The arrests of Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and grandniece, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, left many asking how close family associates of one of the most well-known terrorists in the world could gain lawful permanent status in the U.S. A USCIS internal review announced just days before the arrests may shed some light on that.
On March 30, USCIS issued an alert that, through an ongoing comprehensive review of pending workloads and benefit applications, it had “ascertained that prior screening and vetting measures were wholly inadequate.”
The agency said that “many applicants for naturalization and lawful permanent residence were not sufficiently vetted.” As a result, USCIS said applications were approved and individuals were naturalized who “should not have been.”
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“These gaps,” said USCIS, “expose the United States to significant national security and public safety risks and compromise the integrity of the immigration system.”
In light of these risks, USCIS announced that the agency was issuing a hold and review of all pending asylum applications and benefit applications filed by aliens from high-risk countries. USCIS said the hold and review was in accordance with several executive orders and presidential proclamations by Trump mandating stricter screening and vetting.
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In a policy memo announcing the hold and review, USCIS said it would conduct a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after the day former President Joe Biden took office. The agency noted that “when appropriate,” it would “extend this review and re-interview process to aliens who entered the United States outside of this timeframe.”
Then, on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he had revoked green cards belonging to Soleimani’s grandniece after their association with the notorious Iranian military leader was discovered. Rubio said that Soleimani Afshar “is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the ‘Great Satan.'” He said that both were in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending removal.
Soleimani, the late head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a drone strike ordered by Trump in 2020.
The White House declined to comment on Soleimani Afshar and Hosseiny’s arrests, referring Fox News Digital to the State Department. In turn, the Department of State referred Fox News Digital to the Department of Homeland Security.
Acting Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital that both entered the U.S. in 2015. Soleimani Afshar entered on a tourist visa in June, while her daughter, Hosseiny, entered in July on a student visa. Both were granted asylum status by a judge in 2019.
Bis said that Soleimani Afshar became a green card holder under the Biden administration in 2021, giving her permanent lawful status. Two years later, in 2023, Hosseiny also got her green card, gaining permanent lawful status.
According to Bis, Soleimani Afshar even filed a naturalization application last July. On her application, Soleimani Afshar disclosed that she had traveled to Iran at least four times since being issued a green card. Bis said these trips to Iran “illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent.”
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Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, explained that under current law, the bar for asylum claims in the U.S. is “pathetically low.”
“Some immigration judges apply the standards properly; others are incredibly lax, for altruistic or ideological reasons,” he told Fox News Digital.
He said the Soleimani relatives most likely “made a case that they were being persecuted by the Iranian regime.”
“This wouldn’t be impossible — there are relatives of dictators and bad guys who do oppose their own families. But it appears these women didn’t — they supported the regime, its proxies, and policy. They reportedly returned for visits.”
“Children of regime apparatchiks from China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and every other country with a communist, dictatorial, repressive regime come here to college, buy houses, get jobs, and stay,” he said, adding, “Some are running away from their home regime and could have legitimate claims to asylum. Most are here spending their parents’ money. Scumbags from all over the world rail against the West but they want the New York, Miami, and London lifestyle for their families to enjoy with the money they loot from their own people.”
USCIS, which is a component of DHS, said that in light of its discoveries, it is developing a “layered vetting plan.” The agency said this plan will incorporate classified and unclassified information, as well as expanded criminal history checks, identity verification, and ad hoc security checks with the purpose of closing security gaps.
The agency also said it has compiled information on each country listed in the travel ban proclamations and is working with the State Department to identify risk factors, including indicators of fraud, public safety, or national security risks.
Bis emphasized that “it is a privilege to be granted a green card to live in the United States of America.”
She added that “if we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked.”
