Inspector General: Unvetted Afghans
Report Says Feds Failed to Screen or Vet Large Numbers of Afghan National Fighters
As many of you know, in October I posted a Substack column on terror sleeper cells, “Are Terrorist Sleeper Cells Resurfacing?
In the wake of the Washington, D.C. targeted assassination of National Guard troops by an Afghan refugee living in Washington State, I am providing the official 2022 Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report on the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome.”
The Biden administration operation welcomed tens of thousands of Afghani fighters into the United States following the administration’s debacle in Afghanistan. As you will learn, many veteran Afghan fighters were not vetted as they swarmed into the country and overwhelmed federal agencies.
Former Afghani fighter Rahmanullah Lakanwal on November 23 shouted “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire as he murdered National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom, age 20 and severely wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24 in downtown Washington, D.C.
Lakanwal fought with U.S. forces and with the Central Intelligence Agency for a decade. Was Lakanwal a sleeper cell who infiltrated into the United States under the Biden administration’s ill-prepared refugee program? Or did he become radicalized after he entered the United States?
So let’s look at the Office Inspector General report titled, “DHS Encountered Obstacles to Screen, Vet, and Inspect All Evacuees during the Recent Afghanistan Crisis.”
The link to the Inspector General’s full report is here.
Under “Operation Allies Welcome” the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a part of DHS were overwhelmed and allowed about 76,000 Afghan evacuees to enter the U.S. in a very short time.
I will say the IG findings are alarming enough to wonder how many Afghans who were antagonistic to the United States were admitted into the country without proper vetting.
Are they now sleeper cells, waiting to be activated?
Let’s take a look at the actual report. What did the Inspector General find out in 2022?
First, the key summary provided by the Office of the Inspector General:
The CBP “did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees. We determined some information used to vet evacuees through U.S. Government databases, such as name, date of birth, identification number, and travel document data, was inaccurate, incomplete, or missing. We also determined CBP admitted or paroled evacuees who were not fully vetted into the United States.
“CBP’s Concept of Operations for Operation Allies Refugees allowed its officers to admit or parole evacuees into the country without presenting proper identification documents at a POE (Point of Entry) if they had no derogatory information. However, during the audit, when we requested a list of individuals admitted or paroled without proper identification, CBP officials responded that they did not maintain such a list.
Their key recommendation at the time was to: “provide evidence of full screening and vetting based on confirmed identification – especially for those who did not have documentation.”
During this period, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas served as the Biden cabinet member who oversaw the massive influx of Afghani nationals into the United States.
Secretary Mayorkas rejected all of the IG’s recommendations, including re-screening and vetting of all those who did not have documentation. The DHS rejections and the OIG responses are also listed below.
You decide if the U.S. Government properly evaluated and confirmed the trustworthiness of the thousands of former Afghani fighters who entered the United States and now are living here.
And what to do with the thousands of unvetted Afghan fighters now residing in our country.
Here are key excerpts from the OIG’s report:
“On August 29, 2021, the President directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to lead the coordination across the Federal Government to resettle vulnerable Afghans, known as Operation Allies Welcome (OAW).
“In January 2022, we issued DHS a Notice of Findings and Recommendations document notifying the Department of the urgent need to take action to address security risks of evacuees from Afghanistan who were admitted or paroled into the United States without sufficient identification documents to ensure proper screening and vetting.
“Specifically, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees. We determined some information used to vet evacuees through U.S. Government databases, such as name, date of birth, identification number, and travel document data, was inaccurate, incomplete, or missing. We also determined CBP admitted or paroled evacuees who were not fully vetted into the United States.
“The safety and the security of the American people is the highest priority for the U.S. Government. Preventing criminals, suspected terrorists, or other nefarious actors from entering the United States requires thorough screening and vetting. CBP’s use of incomplete or inaccurate data would not have yielded positive matches from intelligence databases if the individuals had derogatory records under a different name or DOB. Therefore, DHS and CBP cannot be sure they properly screened, vetted, and inspected all evacuees.
“CBP’s Concept of Operations for Operation Allies Refugees allowed its officers to admit or parole evacuees into the country without presenting proper identification documents at a POE if they had no derogatory information. However, during the audit, when we requested a list of individuals admitted or paroled without proper identification, CBP officials responded that they did not maintain such a list.
“OIG decided to review a single month and found Afghans permitted into the country with “red status:”
“However, we found some evacuees traveled to the United States without undergoing established vetting processes. According to CBP’s data extracted in March 2022: CBP allowed 35 Afghan evacuees to board a flight to the United States although they had not received a green status clearing them to travel. CBP did not collect biometrics (fingerprints) for 1,299 evacuees prior to travel to the United States.
“CBP also allowed some evacuees to enter into the United States who may not have been fully vetted. According to internal DHS reports, CBP admitted or paroled dozens of evacuees with derogatory information into the country.
For example, we reviewed DOS (Department of State) agreements with four of at least six lily pad host countries and confirmed the expedited vetting timeframes (Lily Pad countries were hosts to temporarily house Afghan refugees before being allowed to enter into the United States).
Host Country / Time Constraints / Number of Evacuees who Arrived in the U.S.
GERMANY 10 DAYS. 41,195
ITALY 14 DAYS. 3,945
KUWAIT 14 DAYS. 4,122
QATAR 30 DAYS. 10,233
DHS opposes the OIG recommendations
”DHS’s response does not address the concerns of this audit and the recommendations which are aimed at reviewing the execution of OAW’s efforts and improving future, similar OAW efforts.
“Recommendations and Opposition by DHS
“Recommendation 1: We recommend the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner:
1. “Immediately identify evacuees from Afghanistan who are in the United States and provide evidence of full screening and vetting based on confirmed identification – especially for those who did not have documentation; and
2. “Ensure recurrent vetting processes established for all paroled evacuees are carried out for the duration of their parole period.
“DHS Response to Recommendation #1: DHS did not concur. According to DHS, CBP provided evidence to the OIG that all individuals were screened, vetted, and inspected.
“OIG Response “We do not consider DHS’ actions responsive to the recommendation, which is unresolved and open.
“However, CBP did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, and inspect Afghan evacuees at the POEs (Points of Entry). Although the Department asserted it provided sufficient evidence that all individuals were properly screened, vetted, and inspected, we could not confirm this assertion and reported data inaccuracies. DHS explained that recurrent vetting processes were established for all paroled Afghan evacuees for the duration of their parole period. However, we did not receive supporting data or other evidence to validate these assertions. The OIG recognizes the continued security risks to our Nation, and we will close the recommendation when CBP provides evidence the Department confirmed the identification of all evacuees and screened and vetted them accordingly. Further, CBP must show proof that every evacuee paroled into the United States during OAR/OAW went through recurrent vetting throughout their parole period.
“DHS Response to Recommendation #2: DHS did not concur. DHS requested the OIG consider this recommendation resolved and closed.
OIG Analysis of DHS’ comments: “Although we received explanations, flowcharts, meeting minutes, and draft documents related to the event, no formal policies were issued until months after DHS’ involvement. DHS’ response does not acknowledge the need for improvement in the specific aspects for which it is responsible. We will close the recommendation once DHS develops a contingency plan to better prepare for future similar emergency situations.
After reading this, should we be worried?
The CIA screening was likely satisfactory. Any bad actors were probably radicalized after they entered the US. And, how comprehensive was the transition support the evacuees received? I heard they got three months support then were on their own.