A bill to require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to identify and conduct recurrent vetting of evacuees from Afghanistan found not to be properly vetted before entering the United States.
This bill would require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify Afghan evacuees who were paroled into the United States between July 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022, and who remain in the U.S., and then perform comprehensive, recurring vetting of those individuals. The vetting must use confirmed identities and consult all relevant law enforcement and international terrorist screening databases. The bill prioritizes evacuees who lacked proper identity documentation at arrival, and it requires ongoing, periodic vetting (including in-person interviews as needed) for the duration of each evacuee’s parole. It also mandates sharing evidence of completed vetting with key national security and law enforcement agencies. A report to Congress within 180 days of enactment would detail the findings of the vetting and identify evacuees deemed ineligible, with the reasons for each determination. The act builds on concerns highlighted by DHS Inspector General findings about gaps in screening and data reliability during the Afghanistan evacuation.
Key Points
- 1Identifies a defined group: all Afghan evacuees paroled into the U.S. from July 1, 2021, to January 31, 2022, who remain in the United States.
- 2Full screening and vetting: for each identified evacuee, conduct complete screening and vetting, including checking all relevant law enforcement and international terrorist screening databases, based on the evacuee’s confirmed identity.
- 3Prioritization for undocumented evacuees: give priority to those evacuees who did not have documentation of their identity upon arrival.
- 4Recurrent vetting: establish ongoing, periodic vetting processes for all identified evacuees, including in-person interviews as necessary.
- 5Duration and reporting: continue vetting for the entire authorized parole period and provide evidence of vetting to the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and state/local law enforcement where the evacuee is located.
- 6Congressional reporting: within 180 days of enactment, DHS and the DHS Inspector General must report to key Senate and House committees on the vetting results and the number of evacuees found ineligible, with the reasons for each ineligibility.