Former Iraqi refugee living in Texas pleads guilty to conspiring to support ISIS

A former Iraqi refugee pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group, according to the Justice Department. 

Abdulrahman Mohammed Hafedh Alqaysi, 28, pleaded guilty to creating and developing logos for ISIS’ media wing, known as the Kalachnikov team, and sending hacking videos and instructions to ISIS members between 2015 and 2020, the Justice Department announced Friday. 

He also pleaded guilty to providing stolen credit card information and creating fraudulent identity documents for the designated terrorist group. 

Alqaysi, currently a legal permanent resident in Richmond, Texas, will remain in custody until his June 5 sentencing. He faces up to 20 years behind bars and up to $250,000 in fines. 

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The guilty plea comes after the Trump administration has moved to crack down on the vetting of refugees. For example, President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and ramping up vetting of refugees “to the maximum degree possible,” particularly those “from regions or nations with identified security risks.”

One of the orders, known as the Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, instructs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to admit refugees to the U.S. on a “case by case basis” if the alien does not pose a national security threat to the U.S.

Additionally, Vice President JD Vance voiced concerns about the vetting process for refugees in January, and said in an interview with CBS anchor Margaret Brennan that the U.S. shouldn’t “unleash thousands of unvetted people into our country.” 

Specifically, Vance pointed to an Afghan national arrested in October 2024 on charges of conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of ISIS, according to the Justice Department. 

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“I don’t agree that all these immigrants, or all these refugees have been properly vetted,” Vance told Brennan. “In fact, we know that there are cases of people who allegedly were properly vetted and then were literally planning terrorist attacks in our country. That happened during the campaign, if you may remember. So, clearly, not all of these foreign nationals have been properly vetted.”

A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about Alqaysi’s guilty plea. 

Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.