Grassley Statement on DHS Inspector General Finding Deficiencies with Vetting of Afghan Parolees
WASHINGTON
– Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, issued the following statement after the Department of Homeland
Security Office of Inspector General published its report about the
failures and deficiencies in the vetting of Afghan evacuees after the Biden
administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
“Yet again, another independent watchdog confirms
that the vetting of those admitted to the United States in the wake of President
Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has been completely insufficient.
These failures raise serious concerns about public safety and national
security.
“The inspector general found that the
administration admitted or paroled thousands of evacuees who were not fully
vetted, and noted that, during its audit of the Department’s Afghan evacuee
screening and vetting efforts, DHS officials acknowledged to the inspector
general that, throughout the initial months of Operation Allies Welcome, screening
and vetting requirements were decided on an ad hoc basis. That’s no way to
protect the homeland.
“The fact that Biden appointees at DHS had
the audacity to criticize this report instead of taking steps to fix the
problems tells you what you need to know. As I’ve said before, Congress should
not consider sweeping status immigration changes for evacuees unless and until
this administration guarantees the integrity of and fully responds to
long-standing oversight requests regarding their vetting and resettlement
process. Anything less would be irresponsible.”
Grassley
has worked with Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) to seek
transparency about Afghan evacuees “flagged” for
security concerns
and the Biden administration’s failures to use
available vetting tools. Grassley also raised concerns in
February,
when the Defense Department’s watchdog issued a report about the deficient
vetting of Afghan parolees.
-30-
