Inspectors Find 40% Vetting Errors in 678 Afghan Asylum Cases Under Operation Allies Welcome
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 30
Inspectors Find 40% Vetting Errors in 678 Afghan Asylum Cases Under Operation Allies Welcome
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 30
Summary
A Sept. 23 DHS inspector general report found documentation or vetting errors in 40% of 678 asylum applications filed by Afghan nationals admitted through Operation Allies Welcome, raising the risk USCIS missed disqualifying information.
Inspectors counted 303 missing aliases, 23 missing security checks and more than 150 other deficiencies; nearly 60% of the absent checks were missed FBI name checks, and one applicant had 124 known aliases omitted from records.
Two applications involved possible terrorism-related inadmissibility concerns—one lacked required review paperwork entirely, while another showed supervisors started but never completed the final approval step.
DHS said a lawsuit settlement requiring USCIS to adjudicate 90% of asylum cases within 150 days pushed the agency to favor speed over deeper review during the post-2021 Afghanistan evacuation effort.
USCIS agreed to all five inspector-general recommendations, as the program faces renewed scrutiny after several arrests of Afghan nationals previously admitted under Operation Allies Welcome.