On Monday, the Biden administration claimed to evacuate almost 500 more American citizens from Afghanistan after the haphazardous US withdrawal. Meanwhile, some US citizens are still stuck in the war-torn country under the mercy of the Taliban rule.
Biden claimed to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan
The US State Department disclosed the shocking latest numbers in a press release, which defies Biden’s earlier claims that no American was left in Afghanistan.
On August 16, 15 days before the planned withdrawal, the president told ABC News US forces would stay in Afghanistan until the last American citizen is present in the country.
However, right after the withdrawal, he claimed nearly 100 to 200 Americans were still present in Afghanistan, with some of them showing intentions to leave the country.
Likewise, Biden also claimed those who were left behind included dual citizens and long-time residents who themselves decided to stay in Afghanistan because of their family roots in the country.
There are still Americans stranded in Afghanistan and the Secretary of State is curating Spotify playlists.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) December 11, 2021
In the latest press release, the Biden administration noted the State Department believed there was no deadline for this work, so the administration would continue it.
According to the report, the State Department is in touch with left-behind citizens in Afghanistan, who are completely equipped with necessary documents.
Apart from these people are the 2,200 Afghan allies of the United States who provided support to America during the war on terror. Most of those people are still stranded in Afghanistan, with nowhere to go.
The State Department noted it will help those people escape Afghanistan. Through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden administration pledged it would relocate 95,000 individuals from Afghanistan to America by providing necessary funding and resources in the current fiscal year.
Biden failed to pass incoming immigrants from security and health checks
Over 40% of Afghans who reached the United States are eligible to get Special Immigrant Visas (SIV). The work they did exposed them or to someone of their immediate family to the revenge of the Taliban, according to the US State Department.
Likewise, the department asserted the incoming individuals have to go through a rigorous screening process, getting their critical vaccinations done before entering America.
In August, Biden pledged refugees coming from Afghanistan would be completely vetted, noting that people arriving from Kabul would go to the US military bases and transit facilities before entering America.
He asserted that apart from lawful permanent residents and US citizens, everyone is facing security screening at the centers established for immigration purposes.
Everyone knows you left "thousands" not hundreds of Americans in #Afghanistan. What we want to know is how many of the unvetted Afghans that you let into our country are Jihadists? How many are Taliban? How many have "you" planted here that will do us harm in the near future? pic.twitter.com/ydKUnNsOyo
— Shukri Abdirahman (@ShuForCongress) December 14, 2021
Contrary to this, Senate Republicans noted last month that only a small fraction of refugees coming from Afghanistan to the United States were vetted and screened.
It is pertinent to mention Afghanistan is one of the two countries in the world where the poliovirus is still present; any ignorance in screening the refugees can bring poliovirus to the United States as well.
