Former FBI special agent Nicole Parker described the vetting of Afghan evacuees during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal as a chaotic “free-for-all” that allowed unvetted individuals into the country following an ambush shooting of two National Guard members near the White House, Fox News reports. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered via the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, allegedly shot the West Virginia Guardsmen.
In the aftermath of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power, tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated to the United States, according to Fox News. The disorganized nature of the operation drew criticism from Republicans and raised concerns in official reports that inadequate vetting of some evacuees could lead to devastating consequences.
“There were individuals that were not being recommended to come to the United States, yet they were being overridden by the Biden State Department,” Parker said. “Initially, it was a free-for-all and no one was being vetted.”
According to Fox News, “in August 2022, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., revealed that a whistleblower said 324 individuals had entered with derogatory information, while a 2022 report by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) separately found the department failed to properly vet Afghan evacuees entering the U.S., creating potential national security risks.”
Inspectors general reports from DHS and the Pentagon revealed major gaps, including “lily pad” bases in parts of Europe and the Middle East that were reportedly “rushed, understaffed and inconsistent, leading to major documentation gaps, missing records and vetting shortcuts.”
Parker warned of a “ticking time bomb” from sleeper cells, directly linking the attack to vetting failures that endangered citizens and law enforcement. According to Fox News, “Parker said it was almost impossible to vet evacuees because they arrived with no verifiable documents or records, leaving nothing to run through intelligence or criminal databases, putting citizens, law enforcement and the National Guard at risk.”
FBI Director Kash Patel blamed the Biden withdrawal for admitting the suspect in the DC National Guardsmen shooting without proper screening, echoed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“This individual is in this country for one reason and one reason alone, because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet in any way, shape or form this individual and countless others,” Patel said.
In a 2021 Senate hearing, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that more than 99 percent of evacuees had been screened and vetted before boarding flights. However, under further questioning, he admitted he could not confirm that this standard was met in every individual case.