Sens. Portman, Grassley and Inhofe seek update on Afghan evacuee screening

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) recently requested an update from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray regarding the screening and vetting of Afghan evacuees, particularly those with national security concerns.

The senators cited concerns from an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Defense (DOD) report determining evacuees had not been vetted using all of the tools and data available to the DOD.

“We are aware of at least 50 Afghan evacuees paroled by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) into the United States that were later identified by DOD as having potentially significant security concerns that would not qualify for parole or admission onto U.S. military bases used as temporary housing for evacuees,” the legislators wrote in correspondence. “The OIG explains that ‘significant security concerns’ include individuals whose latent fingerprints have been found on improvised explosive devices and known or suspected terrorists. In addition, at least 28 of these evacuees could not be located once they were flagged by DOD.”

The senators maintain the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not utilizing the DOD’s tactical database to screen Afghans for potential security concerns.

“We are concerned that any failures on the part of DHS to use every database to screen for derogatory information could cause a serious breach of homeland security,” the senators concluded. “Accordingly, we request that you provide us with information about those evacuees flagged by DOD and steps the FBI has taken to adjudicate their derogatory information, including locating individuals currently within the United States.”

Portman, Grassley, and Inhofe also requested information regarding how the FBI addresses counterterrorism threats posed by Afghan parolees not screened by the DHS against the tactical database.