An Afghan army major who fled a U.S. training operation in Cape Cod last fall and tried to seek refuge Canada is set to get asylum in the United States.
Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash was stopped at the U.S.-Canadian border in Niagara Falls last fall after he and two fellow soldiers took an 800-kilometre, US $1,600 taxi ride from a Walmart parking lot in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Arash, along with Capt. Noorullah Aminyar and Capt. Mohammed Nasir Askarzada, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Sept. 22 to seek refuge.
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The trio was turned over to U.S. authorities and held at a detention centre in Batavia, New York (outside Buffalo), after being charged with violating the terms of their visas.
Arash was initially denied an asylum claim in January and was to be deported back to Afghanistan, but his lawyer confirmed Tuesday a federal immigration appeal panel has ruled the 49-year-old should be granted asylum.
The panel found credible his fear of being tortured or killed by the Taliban, and possibly suffering repercussions from the Afghan government, and decided it warranted him being granted asylum, immigration lawyer Matthew Borowski told Global News.
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Borowski said his client is relieved the ordeal is finally going to be over.
“He was at the point where he was sure he would lose and he would get deported back to Afghanistan,” Borowski said in a phone interview, adding Arash was even considering reaching out to other countries to seek help. “But we didn’t lose hope. We felt we had a strong appeal.”
Arash remains at the detention centre in Batavia, but Borowski said he would file a parole request and move forward with the background checks and other paperwork needed to complete the asylum process. His wife and children will also be granted asylum under U.S. law, Borowski said.
The men were turned over to U.S. authorities under a post-9/11 Safe Third Country agreement, which says, “persons seeking refugee protection must make a claim in the first country they arrive in (United States or Canada), unless they qualify for an exception to the agreement.”
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Askarzada, who had an uncle living in Montreal, was eventually allowed to enter Canada in December. His lawyer argued he should have been exempt from the agreement and allowed into Canda because of his family connection.
Aminyar is still in detention in Batavia and awaiting an appeal on his asylum case.
Borowski, whose firm is also representing Aminyar, said both cases were denied on the same grounds so he’ll be using the same arguments that won Arash’s appeal.
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