A group of 26 Republicans led by Sen. Tom Cottom (R-AR) sent a letter, pressing President Joe Biden for information on the vetting process used on the evacuees from Afghanistan and the U.S. citizens abandoned by Biden from his deadly military withdrawal.
“The signatories of this letter may have differing opinions about whether the United States should have maintained a military presence in Afghanistan,” the group of senators explained in their letter. “But we all agree that the arbitrary and poorly-planned method by which you withdrew from Afghanistan caused this crisis.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AR attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (TOM WILLIAMS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images).
The group mentioned that the administration is touting evacuating more than 123,000 people, “nearly half of whom were evacuated by groups or countries other than the United States.” Only “4.5% of the total evacuees” were part of the “estimated 5,500 ‘self-identified’ American citizens.”
The letter further pointed out that the Biden administration has yet to “released exact numbers of our Afghan partners who were evacuated,” which the administration “publicly confirmed that fewer than 50% of evacuated Afghans were Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants or their families.”
Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan. (WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images).
“Our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of American citizens, permanent residents, and allies who were left behind in Afghanistan,” which are part of the questions the group wants to be answered from the administration:
- How many American citizens does the administration believe to remain in Afghanistan?
- How many green-card holders does the administration believe to remain in Afghanistan?
- How many Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants remain in Afghanistan?
- According to your administration, more than 50% of evacuated Afghans were not SIV applicants or their families, including vulnerable Afghans such as women and girls at high risk for Taliban reprisals. Of the more than 57,000 Afghans who are not American citizens, green-card holders, or SIV applicants or their families, how many had no pending immigration application or status with the United States prior to being airlifted?
“We request thorough, unclassified answers to these questions that can be made available to the general public. Americans need to see that the United States will not abandon them to terrorists abroad forever,” the senators explained in the letter.
Cotton was joined on the letter by Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn (TN), John Boozman (AR), Mike Braun (IN), Susan Collins (ME), Kevin Cramer (ND), Ted Cruz (TX), Steve Daines (MT), Joni Ernst (IA), Deb Fischer (NE), Lindsey Graham (SC), Chuck Grassley (IA), Bill Hagerty (TN), Josh Hawley (MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), Ron Johnson (WI), John Kennedy (LA), Mike Lee (UT), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Roger Marshall (KS), Jerry Moran (KS), Ben Sasse (NE), John Thune (ND), Pat Toomey (PA), Tommy Tuberville (AL), and Roger Wicker (MS).
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