Senator Chuck Grassley criticized the Biden administration’s Afghan parolee program, Operation Allies Welcome, for its flawed vetting process that has led to serious security risks, including attacks on U.S. National Guardsmen and arrests of Afghan nationals linked to terrorism. He highlighted failures to properly screen evacuees, noting that many parolees were admitted without thorough checks against Defense Department data or reliable Afghan records, resulting in potential threats residing in the U.S. Grassley condemned the administration for mass parole grants without adequate enforcement of immigration laws and for hiding vetting vulnerabilities from the public.

Grassley called for reforms, emphasizing that shortcuts like mass parole undermine national security and that proper immigration pathways, such as the Refugee Admissions Program, should be prioritized. He introduced the Immigration Parole Reform Act to address these issues and criticized proposals that would expand the Special Immigrant Visa program without resolving existing vetting failures. Praising former President Trump’s efforts to tighten vetting, Grassley urged the current administration to learn from these mistakes and improve oversight to protect Americans moving forward.