Afghan Evacuee Added to CIS National Security Vetting Failures Database

From the Center for Immigration Studies

Former CIA guard is charged with terrorism; assurances that he was vetted turn out to be untrue

An Afghan evacuee from the August 2021 fall of Kabul who stands charged with multiple terrorism offenses that include a mass-casualty firearms attack plot is the latest addition to the Center for Immigration Studies National Security Vetting Failures Database, bringing the total number of cases to 49.

In March 2023, the Center published the database collection to draw “remedial attention” to ongoing government vetting failures lest they “drift from the public mind and interest of lawmakers, oversight committee members, media, and homeland security practitioners who would otherwise feel compelled to demand process reforms”, according to an explanatory Center report titled “Learning from our Mistakes”.

The latest addition is Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who worked in Afghanistan as an outside guard for a Central Intelligence Agency facility and was authorized for air evacuation from a third country a month after the August 2021 fall of Kabul to Dallas, Texas, on a hastily approved humanitarian parole.

He was among nearly 100,000 mostly Afghan evacuees, of whom about 77,000 were initially admitted into the United States via humanitarian parole through a program called Operation Allies Welcome. All became eligible for more permanent Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) mainly intended to protect Afghans who collaborated with U.S. military operations from reprisals by the Taliban group that seized control of the country.

After arriving in the United States on September 9, 2021, on humanitarian parole, Tawhedi settled with his wife and infant near Oklahoma City on an SIV. He initially worked as a Lyft driver in Dallas and later as an auto mechanic in Oklahoma.

Some 37 months after arriving, in October 2024, the FBI arrested the 27-year-old Tawhedi and a juvenile co-conspirator — Tawhedi’s brother-in-law — for an alleged plot to conduct an Election Day terrorist firearms attack in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization still active in Afghanistan. The unidentified co-conspirator, an Afghan, entered the United States in 2018 also on an SIV, but little else is known about his vetting processes.

Their plot involved liquidating a house and personal assets to fund the repatriation of Tawhedi’s wife and child to Afghanistan and weapons necessary for him and the juvenile to conduct a mass-casualty attack during which they would be killed, a criminal complaint alleged. The pair obtained semi-automatic rifles and ammunition for the attack, although by then FBI undercover agents had penetrated the plot.

Shortly after the arrests, U.S. government officials claimed that Tawhedi was “thoroughly” vetted three times: first to work for the CIA in Afghanistan, then “recurrently” by DHS for the humanitarian parole status allowing him to fly into the United States, and then for the Special Immigrant Visa once he was settled, probably sometime in 2022.

No red flags turned up, they asserted, without providing evidence.

“Afghan evacuees who sought to enter the United States were subject to multilayered screening and vetting against intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism information. If new information emerges after arrival, appropriate action is taken,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in October 2024.

But within weeks of making those assertions, U.S. officials reversed course and acknowledged that Tawhedi did not undergo the previously claimed vetting. The State Department, in fact, never vetted or approved Tawhedi, nor had he been very thoroughly vetted for his CIA guard post job in Afghanistan, they said. DHS did not “thoroughly” vet Tawhedi for humanitarian parole on a recurring basis as initially claimed about all Afghan evacuees, either, before allowing him to fly from the unknown third country into the United States.

The screening process for Afghan evacuees in the program includes probing for any possible ties to terrorism, ISIS, or the Taliban using databases the U.S. compiled over 20 years in Afghanistan that include data from applicant electronic devices, biometrics, and other sources.

It’s unclear when Tawhedin radicalized in ways that might have been detected. U.S. officials initially told U.S. media they believed that happened only after he was admitted into the United States. In court records, the FBI says Tawhedi’s initial crime — sending $540 in cryptocurrency to ISIS — occurred in March 2024. But his ties and extremist proclivities almost certainly predated the currency transfer.

Had Tawhedi been thoroughly vetting when he was supposed to be, red flags were more likely than not available to be found both before and after he arrived in the U.S.

For instance, adjudicators might have found pre-existing extremist ideological proclivities within Tawhedi’s immediate family because two brothers evacuated to France also were arrested in September 2024 for a terrorism plot there to attack a French soccer match or shopping center, according to numerous media accounts and information that surfaced during an October 2024 Oklahoma City federal court hearing. (The French and Americans collaborated on both cases).

Furthermore, court records reveal that Tawhedi maintained relationships with well-known ISIS figures that were sufficiently trusting to have enabled direct communications with them by phone and on encrypted apps.

In fact, Tawhedi trusted these operatives to care for his repatriated wife and child after he was killed in the U.S. attack and to gift substantial remaining funds from the sale of the Oklahoma house. Lastly, an FBI investigator in the October 2024 court complaint indicated that most extended family members in Tawhedi’s Oklahoma circle were aware of the plot, approved, and could still be charged as co-conspirators as of that time.

The fact that many family members in the U.S. and abroad felt this way about Tawhedi’s plans further indicates that their extremism pre-dated U.S. entry and might have red-flagged during face-to-face interviews, database checks, and other standard security vetting practices.

Underscoring the admitted Tawhedi vetting failure, a September 2022 DHS Office of Inspector General report found, in part, that U.S. Customs and Border Protection “admitted or paroled evacuees who were not fully vetted into the United States” and that, “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.”

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Trump tells Zelensky: Accept peace or risk ‘losing the whole country’

Published on April 25, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Donald Trump warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he risks losing Ukraine entirely if he continues resisting a peace settlement. Trump said Moscow is ready for peace, but Kyiv’s refusal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory could derail the effort.

Key Details:

Trump said Zelensky “can have Peace or… lose the whole Country” and claimed Russia is ready to make a deal.
Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s refusal to recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea, a key sticking point in current peace talks.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is frustrated and warned peace efforts may end if no deal is reached this week.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump issued a blunt warning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, saying the Ukrainian leader must choose between accepting peace or facing the collapse of his nation.

“He can have Peace or… fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social. The statement followed Zelensky’s firm declaration that Ukraine “will not legally recognize the [Russian] occupation of Crimea,” a stance at odds with a proposed peace plan under discussion in London between U.S., British, and European officials.

Trump blasted Zelensky’s comment as damaging, declaring, “Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion.” The president added that such rhetoric undermines delicate peace negotiations.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, “I think Russia is ready,” referring to a peace deal, but questioned whether Ukraine is. Kyiv reportedly signed on to a Trump-proposed ceasefire more than a month ago. Trump hinted that progress has been stymied by Zelensky’s reluctance to compromise.

Despite Russian officials signaling a desire to prolong negotiations—with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing Trump’s efforts as “futile”—Trump maintained optimism, stating, “I think we have a deal with Russia… we have to get a deal with Zelensky.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s patience is wearing thin. “President Zelensky has been trying to litigate this peace negotiation in the press, and that’s unacceptable,” she said, calling for closed-door diplomacy. “The American taxpayer has funded billions… enough is enough.”

Trump, 78, has consistently criticized Obama for allowing Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea to go unanswered. Now, under the Trump administration’s push for peace, a senior official revealed the U.S. is considering recognizing Crimea as Russian territory—a reversal of longstanding American policy based on the 1940 Welles Declaration.

Still, Trump refrained from criticizing Vladimir Putin directly, instead blaming Zelensky for inflammatory statements. “He has nothing to boast about!” Trump said, referencing a heated Feb. 28 Oval Office exchange with Zelensky and Vice President JD Vance.

“I have nothing to do with Russia,” Trump wrote, “but have much to do with wanting to save… five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week.”

Trump warned that time is running out: “We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE.”

With London talks underway and pressure mounting, officials hinted that if no agreement is reached this week, the U.S. could walk away from its efforts in Eastern Europe. Asked whether Trump is ready to give up, Leavitt said, “Not by the end of the day today… but the President… needs to see this thing come to an end.”

Entertainment

Pedro Pascal launches attack on J.K. Rowling over biological sex views

Published on April 25, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

Pedro Pascal, star of HBO’s The Last of Us, ignited backlash this week after publicly hurling an expletive-laced insult at author J.K. Rowling in response to her support for a landmark UK ruling that upheld the legal definition of sex as biological. Rowling celebrated the decision, which affirms the rights of women to single-sex spaces—a view shared by many who advocate for the safety and integrity of women’s rights. Pascal, a vocal progressive and LGBTQ+ activist, labeled Rowling a “heinous loser,” aligning himself with calls to boycott HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot.

Pedro Pascal calls J.K. Rowling a “heinous loser” after she celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding trans women’s legal identities. pic.twitter.com/LEGMD79PjQ

— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 24, 2025

Key Details:

Pedro Pascal responded on Instagram to Rowling’s post celebrating a UK court ruling that legally defined “sex” as biological.
Pascal echoed an activist’s call for a fan-led boycott of the Harry Potter reboot, saying Rowling’s stance was “heinous LOSER behavior.”
HBO has downplayed concerns of a boycott, citing the blockbuster success of Hogwarts Legacy despite similar activist campaigns.

Diving Deeper:

The latest clash in the culture war surrounding Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and the trans activist movement reached a new level of hostility this week when actor Pedro Pascal, a key face of HBO’s entertainment slate, stooped to name-calling on social media. His remarks came in response to Rowling’s defense of the United Kingdom’s recent court decision, which reaffirmed that sex, under British law, means biological sex—a ruling many women’s rights advocates hailed as a long-overdue step toward protecting vulnerable female spaces such as shelters, hospital wards, and sports.

Rowling, whose views on the importance of distinguishing biological sex from gender identity have made her a target of trans activists for years, posted a pointed but unapologetic reaction: “I love it when a plan comes together.” She added, “I get the same royalties whether you read [my books] or burn them. Enjoy your marshmallows!”

In the comments of a post by activist Tariq Ra’ouf—who had attacked Rowling and promoted a boycott of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot—Pascal added his own vulgar commentary: “Awful disgusting SHIT is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.” While Pascal did not explicitly mention Harry Potter, the post he endorsed included calls to tank all future franchise content, including theme parks and merchandise.

Pascal’s involvement with HBO places the network in a difficult position. As the Emmy-nominated co-lead of The Last of Us, one of HBO’s crown jewels, Pascal’s comments are being widely interpreted as an implicit endorsement of the boycott. While HBO has attempted to downplay the activist push, the tension is palpable. Casey Bloys, HBO’s chief content officer, previously noted that the 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy, which also faced calls for boycotts due to Rowling’s views, still became the year’s top-selling game.

Pascal’s activism is personal as well as political. His sister, Lux Pascal, publicly transitioned in 2021, and he has frequently signaled support for trans activism. At the UK premiere of Marvel’s Thunderbolts, Pascal wore a shirt that read “Protect the Dolls,” a slogan popularized in trans activist circles.

Rather than “heinous,” Rowling’s remarks represent a reasoned defense of biological reality and a pushback against an increasingly aggressive ideology that demands conformity and punishes dissent. Her critics, like Pascal, resort to vulgarity and character attacks instead of engaging with the substance of her argument. But Rowling has stood firm in supporting women’s rights and advocating for clarity in laws that impact everything from sports to safety in single-sex spaces—positions grounded in truth, not hate.