Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The U.S. Justice Department revealed that 55 Afghan refugees were flagged on the terror watchlist during entry or resettlement screenings.
According to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), released Tuesday, June 11, security alerts and intelligence warnings related to these individuals were overlooked or mishandled during vetting by the Department of Homeland Security between August 2021 and May 2023. Some of the flagged individuals remained under surveillance even after entering the country.
The OIG report confirms that, as of July 2024, at least nine individuals remain on federal security monitoring lists, raising concerns about long-term risks and accountability in the refugee screening process.
In a strong rebuke, Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, stated that “the Biden administration put American lives at risk” by ignoring previous warnings and failing to address known vulnerabilities in the vetting process.
These findings have reignited debates over the U.S. evacuation and refugee resettlement policy post-Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Critics argue that while the humanitarian urgency was understandable, the vetting infrastructure was unprepared, compromising national security.
As the Biden administration continues to defend its handling of Afghan resettlement, calls for reform and stricter screening procedures are growing, especially with thousands of Afghan allies still awaiting entry through Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and humanitarian parole pathways.