New Bill Would 'Vet' Afghanistan Withdrawal Refugees

Republican Senators Rick Scott (FL) and Joni Ernst (IA) have filed a bill that would vet Afghanistan refugees who entered the United States after President Joe Biden’s tumultuous Afghanistan withdrawal. 

The legislation follows reports alleging some of the Afghani refugees who entered the US as part of post-withdrawal refugee relief efforts were improperly vetted. 

President Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, effectively politically and militarily capitulating to the Taliban who swiftly took control of the entire country and triggered a refugee crisis. 

Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports describe Biden’s administration “did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect Afghan evacuees arriving” to the US.

As such, the report claims Biden’s administration may have enabled the entry of terrorists and individuals posing “a risk to national security and the safety of local communities.”

In an attempt to mitigate potential security risks from the Afghanistan withdrawal refugee crisis Senators Scott and Ernst’s  Afghan Vetting Accountability Act would retroactively vet Afghani refugees who entered the US between July 2021 and January 2022.

“Biden allowed thousands of evacuees to come into the United States without comprehensive vetting simply because they showed up to the airport, including violent individuals and a dangerous terrorist,” said Scott. 

The bill would require US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to identify and provide evidence of full screening and vetting of Afghani refugees. 

Additionally, it mandates recurring and periodic vetting processes for all refugees throughout their stay in the US. 

"We have already seen the dangers of the Biden administration’s vetting failures," said Senator Ernst. "I am protecting Americans by ensuring that those already here and anyone seeking to enter are able to pass the highest levels of scrutiny and vetting."

President Donald Trump recently suspended refugee resettlement processes, impacting many Afghani nationals seeking to flee the Taliban regime. 

President Trump’s order suspends refugee resettlement for the next 90 days pending a determination that refugees seeking entry into the US can “fully and appropriately assimilate into the United States and to ensure that the United States preserves taxpayer resources for its citizens.”