A bill to require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to identify and conduct recurrent vetting of evacuees from Afghanistan found not to be properly vetted before entering the United States.

This bill addresses concerns raised by a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report, which found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered obstacles in screening, vetting, and inspecting Afghan evacuees during Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome. The report indicated that critical data was often inaccurate or missing, leading to the admission or parole of some individuals who were not fully vetted and potentially pose a risk to national security. To rectify these issues, the legislation requires the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to identify all Afghan evacuees paroled into the United States between July 2021 and January 2022 who remain in the country. For each identified evacuee, a full screening and vetting must be conducted using all relevant law enforcement and international terrorist screening databases, with priority given to those who lacked identity documentation upon arrival. Furthermore, the bill mandates the establishment of recurrent and periodic vetting processes , including in-person interviews as needed, for the duration of each evacuee's authorized parole period. The Commissioner must also provide evidence of this vetting to various federal and local law enforcement agencies. Finally, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the DHS Inspector General are required to submit a report detailing the findings of this screening and vetting, including the number of evacuees found ineligible for admission and the specific reasons for their ineligibility.