A caseworker for Samaritas was left fighting for his life after an Afghan refugee he was trying to help tracked the man down at his home and stabbed him multiple times Wednesday, police allege.

“Deputies in Orion Township responded to a 911 all for a male subject who had been stabbed multiple times. The suspect fled the scene in his vehicle,” Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard posted to X shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday. “The investigation revealed that the suspect is an Afghanistan refugee and the victim is a caseworker for a company that assists refugees.

“The suspect is in custody and there is no indication there is anyone else involved or any danger to the community,” the post read. “The victim is in surgery with very serious multiple stab wounds.”

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It’s not clear exactly when the incident occurred, but Samaritas’ Chief Growth Officer Kelli Dobner told The Detroit News the victim was out of surgery and in stable condition Thursday morning.

Neither the victim nor the suspect were identified by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which continues to investigate. Authorities did not release any information on the suspect’s legal status in the U.S. or motive for the attack, Patch.com reports.

“It’s terrible,” Bouchard told WJBK. “Obviously, the person is trying to do their job, which is to help that person assimilate, and for whatever reason this is the reaction he got.”

“We don’t know specifically what his complaint was, or his motive was, because the individual that was attacked is in surgery,” he said Wednesday.

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Criminal defense attorney Elias Muawad, who works on immigration issues, told the news site the incident likely stems from a broken immigration system.

“I’m not going to tell you it happens all the time, but statistically you don’t know who these people are, you don’t know what kind of criminal record they have, you don’t know what mental health issues they have,” he said.

Muawad noted the case comes as federal lawmakers are considering a slate of immigration issues in Washington.

“The biggest issue for a lot of these immigrants is claiming asylum,” he told WJBK. “They have to prove to the immigration judge that if they go back to their country, they’re going to be in fear of death or serious injury.

“It’s hard to prove,” Muawad said.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democrats in the legislature have approved legislation to provide special payments and privileges for “asylum seekers” and refugees in recent years.

One program offers as much as $500 per month for up to a year for rental assistance through the state’s Housing and Community Development Fund, which Whitmer has dubbed the Newcomer Rental Subsidy program.

Republicans noted last year the program criteria allows “individuals with a pending asylum application to receive support, including people who came into the United States illegally and then filed a defensive asylum application” to avoid deportation.

U.S. Department of Justice data shows 97% of asylum claims filed in fiscal year 2023 involved defensive claims.

Whitmer’s Office of Global Michigan released statistics on the program amid the criticism from Republicans that showed 1,242 individuals were using the Newcomer Rental Subsidy program last spring, though the state only had immigration information on 1,166.

“Of the 1,166 household members for which the state had data on their immigration status, they were primarily refugees (46%) and Afghans who came to the United States through a federal effort called Operation Allies Welcome (43%),” The Detroit News reported last year.

Dobner, Samaritas’ growth officer, told Bridge Detroit in September “we’re at peak numbers of refugees that we are welcoming into our care.” Samaritas expects incoming refugees to surge by another 14% in fiscal year 2025, when it plans to help resettle as many as 2,000 from countries including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Guatemala and Iran.

Officials with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity told the news site the state approved more than 4,400 refugees and special immigrant visa holders to move to Michigan in fiscal year 2024.

Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council issued a report in December 2023 that calls for “an immigrant-inclusive economy” to help offset the state’s population decline and talent shortage.

The report notes the state’s roughly 700,000 international migrants represent 7% of the Michigan population, and the immigrant population is expected to grow by another 630,000 by 2050.