Politics
The Biden administration misses deadline to disclose Afghan evacuation details
Congress mandated that the administration report on the matter by Nov. 29, but as of Monday, no information has been received
December 8, 2021 1:07pm
Updated: December 8, 2021 4:44pm
The Biden administration has failed to report on the status of the Afghanistan evacuation, missing the Nov. 29 deadline passed by Congress and signed by President Biden on Sept. 30.
The Washington Examiner first broke this story.
H.R. 5305, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, mandated that the Biden administration provide details of Operation Allies Welcome, the government's evacuation and resettlement initiative – including a detailed listing of who was airlifted out of Kabul and where they currently reside.
Congress also asked the administration to disclose the number of evacuees who have been flagged as security concerns or are on the no-fly list, those who have been paroled into the U.S., and those who have been interviewed by DHS officials in relation to an application or petition for immigration benefits, The Washington Times reported.
But according to a senior lawmaker on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, as of Monday, the government had yet to send any information to Congress.
“The Biden administration was required by law to report to Congress by November 30 on the composition and vetting of the Afghan evacuees — including who actually got on our planes and just how many special immigrant visa holders, and others who helped US forces and our allies over the last 20 years were left behind. It has failed to do so,” Sen. Rob Portman, the top Republican on HSGAC, said in a statement.
“The feckless nature of evacuation of Afghans has put our national security at risk, and I am troubled by the administration’s lack of responsibility or accountability on this issue,” Portman said.
The failure to report comes amid concerns that tens of thousands of Afghan refugees were not fully vetted before entering the United States.
Of the 82,000 U.S. arrivals, 4,920 were U.S. citizens, 3,280 were lawful permanent residents, and the remaining 90%, or 73,800, were Afghan nationals.
