Press Releases

Today, Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06) issued the following statement regarding the ICE arrest of an ISIS-K terrorist in Waynesboro, Virginia. The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national who entered the United States under the Biden Administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” was taken into federal custody.

“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. “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.”

Congressman Ben Cline represents the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia. He previously was an attorney in private practice and served both as an assistant prosecutor and a Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Cline and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Botetourt County with their two children.