DHS Watchdog Finds Significant Vetting Errors in Afghan Migrant Asylum Cases

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general report has revealed that 40% of asylum applications reviewed for Afghan migrants who entered the U.S. after the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan contained vetting errors. The review examined a sample of 678 applications processed under the Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) program.

The DHS watchdog's investigation found that 303 applications were missing aliases, 23 lacked necessary security checks, and over 150 had other documentation issues. According to the report, these errors suggest that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may have missed opportunities to connect applicant names with potentially unfavorable information, which could compromise the integrity of alien registration files used for immigration processes.

In two specific instances highlighted by the report, missed aliases and incomplete documentation involved individuals who might have been inadmissible to the U.S. on grounds related to terrorism. In one of these cases, additional documentation for a potentially inadmissible Afghan was not included, preventing a second-level authority from approving the analysis. In the other case, while the documentation was included and reviewed by higher authorities, a critical box indicating approval or disapproval of the analysis was left unchecked.

The report acknowledges that the consequences of such documentation errors can range from minor inconveniences to potential national security risks if files are not properly reviewed by USCIS supervisors. The investigation was prompted by concerns from USCIS employees who indicated that a 2023 settlement in the case of Ahmed v. DHS pressured them to process asylum claims more rapidly, potentially at the expense of thorough vetting.

Despite these findings, the report noted that the error rate did not show a statistically significant increase following the September 2023 settlement agreement. USCIS leadership, while agreeing with the inspector general's recommendations, stated that the report did not fully account for the existing, robust screening and vetting procedures that were in place and minimized the impact of these administrative errors.

Republicans have previously voiced concerns regarding the OAW program, which facilitated the relocation of over 70,000 Afghans to the U.S. following the chaotic withdrawal. In November of the previous year, it was reported that more than 5,000 Afghan migrants processed through OAW had been flagged for national security concerns. More recently, an Afghan national resettled through the program was allegedly involved in a shooting incident that resulted in the death of one National Guard soldier and serious injury to another near the White House.