Portman: 'Don't Know How Many Afghans' Who Pose Security Risk Are in U.S., 'Hope That They're Being Monitored'

On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Senate Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said that “We don’t know how many Afghans are in this country who pose a national security threat” and that “we just hope” that the few dozen we know of based on statements by the FBI are being monitored.

Portman stated, [relevant remarks begin around 4:35] “In terms of the Afghan refugees, all of us want to take care of the Afghans who helped Americans, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us, the interpreters, and so on. But remember that chaotic withdrawal, a lot of people got on those airplanes who had nothing to do with the U.S. presence there. And we brought them to the United States without properly vetting them. And that’s what the Inspector General has now said. It was pretty obvious. We all knew this was going to be a problem. We don’t know how many Afghans are in this country who pose a national security threat, but we know that there are a few dozen, based on what the FBI has told us. And we just hope that they’re being monitored, we don’t have an issue with that. So, that’s why the IG report today was so important and really will be surprising to a lot of people who haven’t followed this.”

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