US Congress Renews Warning Over Lax Vetting of Afghan Evacuees
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has once again raised concerns over inadequate vetting of Afghan nationals who were relocated to the United States following the fall of Kabul.
In a newly released report, the committee underscored that, during the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden, U.S. authorities failed to properly identify and collect biometric data from many Afghans transferred to American soil.
According to the committee’s findings, a significant number of individuals were allowed into the United States without undergoing basic identity verification procedures, including biometric assessments and standard security screenings. These lapses have raised serious domestic security concerns.
While the main objective of the evacuation was to save the lives of those who had cooperated with U.S. forces, the execution of the operation and the absence of a transparent mechanism for background checks have drawn strong criticism. Since seizing control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban regime has created chaos, violence, and repression—particularly targeting former employees of foreign organizations—prompting many to flee the country.
Human rights organizations have consistently emphasized the need to protect Afghan refugees and to ensure transparency in their acceptance processes by host nations. The latest report also highlights the necessity of revisiting current U.S. immigration and security policies.
