Last Wednesday in Washington, D.C., lawmakers convened a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine the Biden administration’s Afghan parole program. While national security concerns dominated the discussion, the hearing also made clear that Afghans are among the most thoroughly vetted populations entering the United States. It also underscored the growing uncertainty facing tens of thousands of Afghans whose immigration pathways are stalled and who now risk return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The hearing followed the November 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., carried out by an Afghan national who entered the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, a parole program launched after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The discussion made clear that Afghans admitted to the United States through Operations Allies Refuge and Allies Welcome underwent extensive security screening, and that those who did not satisfy vetting requirements were not allowed to stay. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) stated that of the “76,000 Afghans who entered the country on parole status, six had been arrested.”
Although the hearing was titled with a provocative notion, “Biden’s Afghan ParoleeProgram – A Trojan Horse with Flawed Vetting and Deadly Consequences,” the evidence presented pointed in the opposite direction. Assertions that Afghan arrivals were inadequately vetted were shown to be based on a flawed assumption and anti-immigrant sentiments. In fact, multiple senators and witnesses emphasized that Afghan evacuees have been subjected to some of the most rigorous screening procedures applied to any group entering the United States, reaffirming the integrity and effectiveness of the system.
Republican lawmakers argued that the program allowed more than 70,000 Afghans into the country without adequate vetting.
Democrats pushed back, warning against using the tragedy to justify broad restrictions targeting Afghan refugees and parolees. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) said each Afghan evacuee underwent “multiple rounds of extensive vetting,” both overseas and after arrival, and emphasized that failures in post-resettlement and mental health support, not screening, may have contributed to the attack.
“What happened here was not a failure of vetting,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) said. “It was a failure to respond to clear warning signs and a failure to support a veteran in crisis.”
As lawmakers debated accountability, the hearing revealed sweeping policy changes already underway. Refugee admissions for Afghans have been suspended, visa processing halted or restricted, and immigration reviews expanded to nearly 200,000 cases. Advocacy groups warned that these measures risk stranding Afghans who assisted U.S. forces and exposing them to Taliban reprisals.
Letters entered into the congressional record from Afghan veterans and Special Immigrant Visa holders described fear of deportation to a country where the Taliban have consolidated power and intensified repression.
“There is no greater threat to future U.S. military operations,” one letter warned, “than the perception that America abandons its partners once the shooting stops.”
As the hearing centered on Afghans who arrived in the United States during the collapse of the former republic in August 2021, it largely overlooked the Taliban’s systematic repression of women and girls and the broader humanitarian and security crisis now gripping Afghanistan. Still, human rights advocates note that restricting Afghan immigration pathways disproportionately affects women fleeing a regime that has barred them from education, employment, and public life, which are the very conditions that are described as gender apartheid.
The absence of discussion on gender-based persecution underscored a broader concern raised quietly throughout the hearing: that policy responses framed solely around security risk may overlook the realities Afghans face if returned to Taliban rule.
As investigations continue and lawmakers weigh reforms to parole authority, the future remains uncertain for thousands of Afghans caught between tightening U.S. immigration policies and a country they cannot safely return to.
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Joint Subcommittee Hearing