The State Department proclaimed Thursday that refugees who have recently arrived in the US from Afghanistan are subject to a “rigorous” security check, but declined to say what happens to those who fail to pass muster — while more than two dozen Republican senators raised concerns that Afghans with criminal or terrorist pasts were flown out of the war-torn country in recent days.
“Before anyone who is evacuated from Afghanistan comes to this country, they undergo a rigorous vet from counterterrorism professionals, Homeland Security professionals, law enforcement professionals, with the aid and assistance of our Intelligence Community,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during his regular briefing. “Unless and until they complete that vet, they will not be in a position to come to the United States.”
Price added that the State Department has “adequate facilities for individuals who are not yet in a position to come to the United States while they undergo that vetting process” and was “doing everything we can to expedite the vetting process.”
“In many cases we are able to move people from a transit point in the Middle East, to one in Europe, to the United States in a matter of days,” Price went on. “In some cases, the vetting process may take longer. We do have adequate solutions for those cases that are going to be handled on a case-by-case basis.”
“But what happens if you fail and don’t get vetted?” asked Associated Press reporter Matt Lee.
“Again, these are hypotheticals,” Price responded. “I would rather not entertain a hypothetical.”
When asked again later in the briefing about what would happen to those who failed the vetting process, Price said: “We do have a plan, but again, these aren’t always plans that we can detail publicly. We also wouldn’t want to wade into a hypothetical.
“In many cases, as I said before, the vetting will be quick and the rigorous checks can be fulfilled in rather short order, given that we surged resources to these transit countries to do just that,” Price continued. “DHS [Department of Homeland Security] is working very closely with other interagency partners to expedite these security checks consistent with the rigor with which they need to be conducted.”
Also Thursday, 26 GOP senators led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) sent a letter to the White House asking President Biden for the exact number of US citizens, legal permanent residents and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants left in Taliban-controlled territory.
The lawmakers are also asking for the number of evacuees who had “no pending immigration application or status with the United States” prior to being evacuated from Afghanistan.
“Our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of American citizens, permanent residents, and allies who were left behind in Afghanistan,” the letter reads. “We are also concerned by reports that ineligible individuals, including Afghans with ties to terrorist organizations or serious, violent criminals, were evacuated alongside innocent refugee families.”
“They screwed it up coming and going,” Cotton told “Fox News Primetime” Thursday night. “We left the vast majority of loyal Afghans who served alongside of our American troops there in the country, even if they had a visa approved. Yet we apparently also evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans who had no clear direct connection to American troops, and we really have no idea who they are or ability to vet them.
“So Joe Biden cynically used the plight of those loyal Afghans who served alongside American troops to evacuate tens of thousands of Afghans who had no right to be in the country and is now bringing them into the country to the tune of thousands every day, with no ability to vet whether or not they’re a security threat at all,” Cotton alleged.
The letter estimates that more than 57,000 evacuated Afghans are not American citizens, green card holders or visa applicants and asks for information about the vetting process.
At Thursday’s briefing, Price said that more than 31,000 people had arrived in the US from Afghanistan as of Wednesday, more than three-quarters of whom were “Afghans at risk,” which he described as a “broad category” that includes SIV holders and applicants.
