When an Afghan national on the FBI terrorist watchlist was arrested last Thursday after having spent nearly a year in the U.S., immigration officials said he had been enrolled in a program that tracked his location via ankle monitor, mobile app or telephone.
But the man's participation in the monitoring program, known as Alternatives to Detention, lasted only a little over two weeks, NBC News has learned.
Mohammad Kharwin, 48, is believed to have then spent 10 months in the U.S. without any kind of monitoring system, according to sources familiar with his case.
The national terrorist watchlist indicates Kharwin is a member of Hezb-e-Islami, or HIG, an Afghanistan-based political and paramilitary group that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.
HIG was responsible for attacks in Afghanistan that killed at least nine American soldiers and civilians from 2013 to 2015. The group is not seen as a top threat in terms of attacks inside the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.