An Afghan soldier fleeing the Taliban spent months reaching the U.S. to request asylum. He was arrested at the Texas border.

Abdul Wasi Safi stands in the foreground of Afghan military vehicles surrounded by dirt-filled barriers and concrete bunkers. Wasi, who helped the Afghan military fight the Taliban, left the country fearing for his life. He was arrested earlier this year after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border trying to reach his brother who had immigrated to Houston and became a U.S. citizen. (Credit: Courtesy of Sami-ullah Safi.)

DEL RIO — Two brothers stand across from each other at the Val Verde Correctional Facility in this border city, speaking reverently through the fixed telephones. They are separated by the visiting room’s thick glass partition, too energized to sit.

One brother, Abdul Wasi Safi, wears an inmate’s bright orange uniform. The other brother, Sami-ullah Safi, wears a blue blazer, jeans and a look of determination to bring his brother home safely.