U.S. security watchdog remains undecided on review of Sharif case
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s government watchdog says it is still deciding whether to review the case of a man accused of committing a vehicle attack in Edmonton years after he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
Late last year, Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to review the case of Abdulahi Hasan Sharif.
Sharif is accused of committing two vehicle attacks in Edmonton on Sept. 30, 2017, injuring a police officer and four civilians.
Police said they found an Islamic State group flag in a car Sharif is alleged to have driven. While police officials initially said they were investigating the incident as an act of terror, no terrorism charges have been laid.
Republicans have taken an interest in the case because Sharif, originally from Somalia, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2011 before making his way to Canada.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the OIG said they are still deciding whether to review the case, but added “we give priority to congressional requests.”
“As for this particular request, which we received shortly before the (government) shutdown, we are considering it as part of our work-planning process and if we decide to conduct a review it will result in a public report,” Arlen Morales said in an email.
Morales added that audits and inspections typically take nine months to one year depending on their scope. Sharif is scheduled to go to trial in October on charges including five counts of attempted murder.
Ex-South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy requested the OIG investigate the Sharif case on Dec. 20, 2018, making it one of his last acts as a congressman.
In a letter to the OIG, Gowdy wrote members of the committee were “deeply concerned the vulnerabilities existing in 2011 which allowed this individual to enter, be released, and transit through the U.S. may still exist today.”
Gowdy did not run again in the November midterms that saw Democrats retake control of the House.
Since leaving office, he has returned to practising law and has signed on as a Fox News contributor.
Sharif fled Somalia around 2008, according to his romantic partner, and spent the next few years in a number of African countries before making his way to South America and eventually, Mexico. He entered the U.S. at a border crossing near San Diego, Calif., on July 12, 2011.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) took Sharif into custody because he had no documents and no legal status to enter the U.S.
An immigration judge later ordered Sharif deported to Somalia, but he was released from custody because there was no firm timetable for his removal (U.S. courts have ruled against holding people indefinitely in immigration detention).
Sharif later made his way to Canada where he was granted refugee status. Canadian officials said there were no “red flags” when he entered Canada.
Gowdy specifically asked the OIG to review Homeland Security policies for vetting people from “specially designated countries” — countries U.S. officials believe have a “tendency to promote, produce, or protect terrorist organizations or their members.”
Republicans also asked the OIG to review ICE investigations into “special interest aliens” who travelled through Latin America, as well as cases where such people were released in the U.S. because they could not be immediately deported.
A spokesperson for Oversight Committee Democrats declined to comment on the Gowdy request.
Morales said if the OIG does investigate Gowdy’s request, the final report will be published online.