Grassley Continues Probe of Biden-Harris Administration’s Failure to Properly Vet Afghan Evacuees

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pressing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for answers regarding the serious security concerns caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to fully vet Afghan evacuees in the wake of the United States’ disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including the improper classification of security risk data with respect to evacuees. Last year, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan evacuee, was arrested for planning an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS.

Grassley is urging the FBI to respond to his repeated requests for information on how the Bureau has addressed threats posed by Afghan evacuees that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paroled into the U.S., despite failing to screen them via the Department of Defense’s tactical database.

In his letter, Grassley cited a report from the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) titled, DHS Has a Fragmented Process for Identifying and Resolving Derogatory Information for Operation Allies Welcome Parolees.

“This report confirmed the concerns I’ve had for years—that the Biden administration failed to properly vet Afghan evacuees and the FBI failed to provide the necessary law enforcement mechanisms needed to properly ensure American’s safety. That report noted the FBI’s refusal to provide the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) with full access to its National Crime Information Center Interstate Identification Index (Triple I) System—a refusal I questioned,” Grassley wrote.

Grassley is asking the FBI to provide specific, unclassified answers on the vetting process for Nasir Ahmed Tawhedi. He is also asking how many Afghan evacuees who were deemed a national security concern are currently located in the U.S., and what steps the FBI has taken to address threats from Afghan parolees who were not screened by DHS against the DOD’s tactical database.

Text of Grassley’s letter to FBI Director Kash Patel follows:

March 11, 2025

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Kash Patel

Director

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Dear Director Patel:

On October 10 and October 21, 2024, I wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national who was arrested in Oklahoma after allegedly planning an Election Day terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of ISIS.[i]  In my October 21 letter, I raised concerns and questions related to Tawhedi’s entry into the United States through Operation Allies Refuge (OAR) and Operation Allies Welcome (OAW).[ii]  As you are likely aware, I’ve consistently raised concerns about the Biden Administration’s failure to vet Afghan evacuees and the FBI’s improper classification of data relating to the assessments and investigations of these individuals.[iii]  Recently, on January 30, 2025, the FBI provided a response to my October 2024 letters.[iv]  The FBI failed to fully and completely respond to either letter and failed to provide any of the requested records.[v] 

On May 26, 2022, August 22, 2022, and June 25, 2024, I wrote to the FBI requesting information regarding the screening and vetting of individuals that were evacuated from Afghanistan through OAW and OAR.[vi]  Specifically, my May 26, 2022, letter to then-FBI Director Wray highlighted that Department of Defense (DOD) officials told my office that they provided the FBI a spreadsheet of information regarding Afghan evacuees that were flagged as potentially significant security concerns, at least 50 of which were paroled into the United States by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).[vii]  That letter requested the FBI provide the steps it had taken to adjudicate the derogatory information of those flagged evacuees, including the location of those individuals.[viii]  Further, I requested the FBI provide information on how it had addressed threats posed by Afghan evacuees that DHS paroled into the United States despite failing to screen them via DOD’s tactical database.[ix]  Former FBI Director Wray failed to respond.

Further, I’ve questioned the FBI’s rationale behind its classification of information provided to congressional staff during a July 14, 2022, briefing.[x]  During this briefing, the FBI, along with other government agencies, shared additional information beyond the 50 Afghan evacuees initially flagged by the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC).[xi]   FBI officials claimed the information provided during the briefing was classified despite similar information being unclassified in the past.

Additionally, in my June 25, 2024, letter to the FBI, I highlighted a DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report titled, DHS Has a Fragmented Process for Identifying and Resolving Derogatory Information for Operation Allies Welcome Parolees.[xii]  This report confirmed the concerns I’ve had for years—that the Biden administration failed to properly vet Afghan evacuees and the FBI failed to provide the necessary law enforcement mechanisms needed to properly ensure American’s safety.[xiii]  That report noted the FBI’s refusal to provide the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) with full access to its National Crime Information Center Interstate Identification Index (Triple I) System—a refusal I questioned.[xiv]   Former FBI Director Wray failed to respond to my letter.

I welcome any additional explanation from the FBI to better understand what steps the FBI has taken to vet, investigate, and track Afghan evacuees, like Tawhedi, who have derogatory information on their file or potentially raise security concerns.  For Congress to conduct independent oversight, provide a response to the following requests in an unclassified form no later than March XX, 2025:

1. Did any U.S. government agency, to include the FBI, vet and investigate Nasir Ahmed Tawhedi before his entry into the United States?  Provide a detailed description, including all dates of contact, entry, and review, and all records.[xv]  

2. Provide the dates Tawhedi was subject to any assessment, preliminary investigation, or full investigation.

3. Describe, in detail, actions the FBI has taken to monitor Afghan evacuees deemed a national security concern.

4. How many Afghan evacuees deemed a national security concern are located in the United States?  Is the FBI aware of their location?

5. How many Afghan evacuees deemed a national security concern have since been cleared and are no longer a security concern?

6. How many Afghan evacuees deemed a national security concern are currently subject to an assessment, preliminary investigation, or full investigation?  Does the FBI know where each is located?

7. What steps has the FBI taken to address the counterterrorism threat posed by Afghan parolees that have not been screened by DHS against the DOD’s tactical database?  Provide all records.

8. Will the FBI provide USCIS full access to its Triple I system?  If not, why not?

9. From August 8, 2024, the date in which Tawhedi populated the OAW hotlist, to the date of his arrest on October 7, 2024, did the FBI receive any information requests from DHS regarding Tawhedi?  Did DHS notify the FBI that Tawhedi had populated the hotlist?  Provide all records.

Thank you for your prompt review and response.  If you have any questions, please contact Tucker Akin with my Committee staff at (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary

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