Capito, Colleagues Request Biden Administration Provide Overdue Report on Composition & Vetting of Afghan Evacuees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, and other ranking members on committees with oversight of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting the overdue report on the composition and vetting of the more than 78,000 Afghans evacuated by U.S. forces.

The continuing resolution to fund the government passed in September required Secretary Mayorkas to provide said report to Congress by November 30, 2021.

“Through Section 2503 of Public Law 117-43, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, Congress required the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the head of any other applicable Federal agency, to provide a report on the composition and vetting of the more than 78,000 Afghan evacuees by November 30, 2021,” the senators wrote. “As of the date of this letter, you have failed to meet the statutorily mandated deadline.  That is unacceptable. As Vice Chairman and Ranking Members of the Committees with jurisdiction regarding oversight and funding of Operation Allies Welcome, we request you immediately comply with the statutory deadline and provide the above referenced report.”

Along with Senator Capito, other senators on the letter include, Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Mayorkas,

Through Section 2503 of Public Law 117-43, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, Congress required the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the head of any other applicable Federal agency, to provide a report on the composition and vetting of the more than 78,000 Afghan evacuees by November 30, 2021. Congress mandated this report include the immigration status of Afghan evacuees located here in the United States and at overseas bases of U.S. Armed Forces, including any evacuees “flagged as potential security risks or concerns.” This information is necessary for Congress to perform its constitutional oversight duties, which includes an understanding of the composition of the Afghan evacuee population located in the United States and any potential national security concerns.

As of the date of this letter, you have failed to meet the statutorily mandated deadline. That is unacceptable. 

As Vice Chairman and Ranking Members of the Committees with jurisdiction regarding oversight and funding of Operation Allies Welcome, we request you immediately comply with the statutory deadline and provide the above referenced report. 
 

# # #