Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Wednesday that it has deported an Afghan national who was paroled into the U.S. last year, and pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a 3-year-old girl.
Tariq Mohammad Intezar, a 25-year-old Afghan, was paroled into the U.S. via Dulles International Airport on Sept. 8, 2021 -- one of more than 88,000 Afghans who came to the U.S. amid the withdrawal effort from Afghanistan.
ICE said in a statement that he pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact of a three-year-old girl, was convicted of abusive sexual contact, and was sentenced in April 2022 to 12 months of jail, followed by five years of released supervision. He had been in the country just over six months by the time he was sentenced.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) picked up Intezar after lodging an immigration detainer -- a request he be turned over to ICE custody -- in July in Pennsylvania.
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In September, an immigration judge ordered him removed from the U.S. to Afghanistan. Intezar waived his right to appeal.
ICE said in its statement that Intezar was flown from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on Sunday and arrived at Abu Dhabi International Airport the next day on an ICE ERO flight.
"I am proud of our ERO Philadelphia team for quickly and safely removing Mr. Intezar," David O’Neill, ERO Philadelphia’s deputy field office director, said in a statement. "We will continue to be vigilant in defending the American public from dangerous predators and protecting our most vulnerable population: our children."
DHS OIG FAULTS AFGHAN EVACUEE VETTING, WARNS NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS MAY HAVE ENTERED
Intezar was allowed into the U.S. using humanitarian parole -- which is supposed to be used on a case-by-case basis for reasons of significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian reasons. The instrument was used to quickly process tens of thousands of Afghans into the U.S. after the hasty withdrawal from the country last year.
By doing so, the administration avoided the special immigrant visa (SIV) process and U.S. refugee admissions process, both of which can take years to complete.
DHS has repeatedly defended the vetting and what it has called a "multi-layered" screening and vetting process, even as Republicans and others have raised concerns.
A DHS Office of Inspector General report in September found that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) "did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees."
"As a result, DHS may have admitted or paroled individuals into the United States who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities," the report continued.
That same month, Fox News Digital reported that a man charged in New Mexico of a sex crime against a 12-year-old boy was an Afghan national who came to the U.S. and was paroled in November 2021. ICE confirmed to Fox that it had lodged a detainer against the suspect.
