Afghan community members in Sacramento are expressing fear as immigration authorities begin targeting Afghan asylum applicants in the area and across the country.This comes after an incident where an Afghan national was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last week. Members of the Afghan community in Sacramento have condemned the act and feel that an entire group should not be punished for the actions of one person.Besmellah Khuram, who has lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, said, “It’s kind of worrying for not only me, for the entire community as an Afghan.” Khuram came to the U.S. to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2015 and later worked with the U.S. Marines in 2021, as many Afghans did. “They risked their lives working with the Americans and they came here. So, if they go back, their life will be in danger. So, they have no other place to go,” he said.Giselle Garcia with NorCal Resist reported an expansion of ICE enforcement actions in predominantly Afghan communities in Sacramento. She said ICE agents were seen going to apartments and at least one market near Marconi Avenue in the Arden Arcade area on Thursday morning. On Monday, she said six asylum applicants from Afghanistan were detained when they went to federal immigration court for check-ins.Joseph Azam with the Afghan American Foundation believes this is collective punishment following the shooting in D.C. “That’s impacting real people’s lives and jobs and families at school. And it’s happening right in our neck of the woods,” Azam said. “Collective action is not something that we are about as Americans. We believe in individual accountability and holding people responsible for their actions.”In a statement to KCRA 3, Homeland Security said in part, “We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are,” adding that the 190,000 Afghans who have resettled in the U.S. since 2021 did not undergo criminal background checks or social media vetting. Khuram noted, “There was people just getting in the plane and got here unvetted. The only vetting was like, you know, a simple body check and they got in the plane.” He worked on a military base with some of those Afghan refugees for months and now says they are waiting to see what these enforcement actions will mean for their future. “The good people should stay,” Khuram said.Friday morning, Congresswoman Doris Matsui will hold a news conference to push back against the Trump administration’s targeting of the Afghan community in Sacramento and across the country.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Afghan community members in Sacramento are expressing fear as immigration authorities begin targeting Afghan asylum applicants in the area and across the country.

This comes after an incident where an Afghan national was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last week.

Members of the Afghan community in Sacramento have condemned the act and feel that an entire group should not be punished for the actions of one person.

Besmellah Khuram, who has lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, said, “It’s kind of worrying for not only me, for the entire community as an Afghan.”

Khuram came to the U.S. to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2015 and later worked with the U.S. Marines in 2021, as many Afghans did.

“They risked their lives working with the Americans and they came here. So, if they go back, their life will be in danger. So, they have no other place to go,” he said.

Giselle Garcia with NorCal Resist reported an expansion of ICE enforcement actions in predominantly Afghan communities in Sacramento.

She said ICE agents were seen going to apartments and at least one market near Marconi Avenue in the Arden Arcade area on Thursday morning. On Monday, she said six asylum applicants from Afghanistan were detained when they went to federal immigration court for check-ins.

Joseph Azam with the Afghan American Foundation believes this is collective punishment following the shooting in D.C.

“That’s impacting real people’s lives and jobs and families at school. And it’s happening right in our neck of the woods,” Azam said. “Collective action is not something that we are about as Americans. We believe in individual accountability and holding people responsible for their actions.”

In a statement to KCRA 3, Homeland Security said in part, “We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are,” adding that the 190,000 Afghans who have resettled in the U.S. since 2021 did not undergo criminal background checks or social media vetting.

Khuram noted, “There was people just getting in the plane and got here unvetted. The only vetting was like, you know, a simple body check and they got in the plane.”

He worked on a military base with some of those Afghan refugees for months and now says they are waiting to see what these enforcement actions will mean for their future.

“The good people should stay,” Khuram said.

Friday morning, Congresswoman Doris Matsui will hold a news conference to push back against the Trump administration’s targeting of the Afghan community in Sacramento and across the country.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel