The House Homeland Security Committee whacked the Biden administration Friday for missing the deadline to turn over documents detailing how tens of thousands of Afghans were vetted before they were allowed to reach the U.S. during the 2021 airlift.
Chairman Mark Green, Tennessee Republican, said the Homeland Security Department is nearly a month delinquent, and he prodded officials to get cracking.
He said the information on vetting is all the more critical given that the Biden administration moved this month to grant an extension to the Afghans, renewing their “parole” period and granting them another two years of residency in the U.S. without having to obtain a legal visa that normally would be necessary.
Mr. Green also pointed to reports of criminal charges racked up by evacuees.
“While these cases of violent crimes may be infrequent, the importance of thorough DHS vetting procedures remain to ensure Americans’ safety and security,” Mr. Green and three chairmen of subcommittees wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Among the cases that have come to light is Shah Mahmood Selab, who agreed to plead guilty in federal court in New Mexico in April to the enticement of a minor after he showed a 12-year-old boy photos of children engaged in intimate acts, then rubbed the youth’s groin and buttocks and paid $20 to try to get him to touch Selab’s penis.
DOCUMENT: Afghan Vetting Follow Up
Other cases involve an evacuee who targeted a 14-year-old girl, coercing her into making a video of herself masturbating, touching her breasts and pushing her to have sex. The video of the girl was just one of several pieces of child pornography investigators found on Alif Jan Adil’s phone. He was slapped with more than 12 years in prison.
It’s not clear from court documents what Adil’s basis was for being part of the evacuation, which brought tens of thousands of Afghans out as their country’s government collapsed amid the U.S. troop withdrawal in August 2021.
The inspector general at the Defense Department and the inspector general at Homeland Security have both faulted the Biden administration for the hasty evacuation, which claimed to use Mr. Mayorkas’ “parole” powers to welcome the Afghans although they had no legal visa or, in many cases, a potential claim that would entitle them to status in the U.S.
Investigators said security checks were also bungled, causing those doing the vetting to lack access to a database that could have flagged dozens of evacuees as security risks before they reached the U.S. Instead, the department paroled people who may “pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities,” the Homeland Security inspector general found.
Homeland Security has disputed that finding, but has yet to detail why it disagrees.
In a statement to The Washington Times, the department said: “DHS responds to congressional correspondence directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to congressional oversight.”
Congressional Republicans have been demanding information about the evacuees and their vetting dating back to 2021, but they were in the minority at the time.
Now in the majority and in control of committees, they have more power to demand cooperation.
Mr. Green and his subcommittee chairs first sought the information May 1 and set a May 15 deadline. They received a reply on May 2 from the department saying officials were working on identifying “responsive documents.” But no documents have been produced to date, 25 days after the deadline passed.
“Secretary Mayorkas’ refusal to give this committee answers in a timely manner only further confirms our fear that this administration may not be properly vetting or screening Afghan evacuees following its catastrophic withdrawal in 2021,” Mr. Green said in a statement. “With Afghanistan under Taliban rule again and terrorists empowered in the region, this committee’s inquiry must be treated with urgency so we can conduct effective oversight and ensure DHS is not putting the homeland at risk.”
Homeland Security this week announced it would begin “re-parole” for evacuees, giving them another two-year lease on life in the U.S.
“DHS is proud to have led Operation Allies Welcome and we are committed to supporting our Afghan allies as they continue to settle into their communities across the country,” Mr. Mayorkas said. “Through this new streamlined and fee-exempt process, eligible Afghan nationals will be able to continue living and working here as they pursue a permanent status.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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