Refugee advocates and veterans accused Congress of abandoning Afghans who fled to the U.S. after a bill designed to resolve the legal status of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees was left out of a year-end spending bill.
Kim Staffieri, a co-founder and the executive director of the Association of Wartime Allies, a nonprofit group that helps Afghans who worked for the U.S. government apply for special immigrant visas, called it “another slap in the face” to Afghan allies and U.S. military veterans. “It’s unconscionable,” she said.
To address concerns raised by some Republican lawmakers, sponsors of the bill added language to ensure the Afghan refugees undergo thorough security vetting by U.S. authorities. But the proposal failed to win support from 10 Republican senators needed to add it to the omnibus spending package. He said that “there were many worthwhile things that didn’t make it that ought to be addressed” and added, “I think it’s important.”
“The administration’s failure to properly vet Afghan evacuees throughout this process has resulted in individuals being flagged for security concerns after they’d already arrived into the United States,” Grassley’s office said.
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