The arrest of an Afghan national now accused of planning an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS and who arrived in the United States shortly after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan is again raising long-standing questions and concerns from Republicans about vetting people who came to the U.S. at that time.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi is said to have obtained firearms and ammunition to carry out a brutal attack on US soil and took steps to prepare the plot. Tawhedi, who was arrested on Monday, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and receiving a firearm in furtherance of a felony or federal terrorism offense. Authorities say he liquidated family assets to finance his scheme, which included purchasing rifles and one-way tickets for his wife and child back to Afghanistan.
“This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a brutal election day attack here in our homeland,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “I am proud of the men and women of the FBI who discovered and stopped the conspiracy before anyone was harmed. Terrorism continues to be the FBI's number one priority, and we will use every means possible to protect the American people.”
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Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (Department of Justice)
Authorities said Tawhedi arrived in the United States on September 9, 2021, on a special plane Immigration visa and is currently on parole pending an immigration decision deliberations. His alleged co-conspirator is a green card holder who came to the U.S. on a special immigrant visa in 2018.
Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), first made available during the Bush administration, made it possible to obtain a visa for people who worked for the U.S. armed forces as an interpreter or translator in Afghanistan or Iraq. The number of people applying for SIV has increased dramatically as applications are withdrawn in 2021.
But Tawhedi arrived shortly after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, when planeloads of Afghans were quickly evacuated from the Kabul airport and tens of thousands of Afghans were brought to the US. The United States subsequently accepted over 97,000 evacuees, of whom approximately 77,000 were admitted on humanitarian parole through a program called Operation Allies Welcome.
It is unclear how Tawhedi came to the United States and why he transitioned from SIV to parole. But Republicans and regulatory officials have long expressed concern about vetting people who arrived during that period. These concerns were renewed in the case of Tawhedi.
“When tens of thousands of insufficiently vetted individuals are allowed into the interior of the country, this is the inevitable result,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement. “This committee has repeatedly warned of the terrorist threats arising from the Biden-Harris Administration's failed leadership and disastrous border security policies.
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“Unfortunately, our calls for transparency regarding insufficient verification and control following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan continue to go unanswered – and in this case, Americans have almost paid the price,” he said.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he had been vocal about the need for thorough screening of SIV visa applicants, but the Biden administration “quickly dismissed these glaring alarms.”
“The number one job of our government is to protect our citizens. “By hiding behind bureaucratic excuses, refusing to take responsibility and neglecting to address known gaps in the vetting and resettlement processes, the Biden-Harris administration has failed to prioritize the safety of Americans and once again projects weakness on the international stage,” Grassley said in a statement.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York also blamed the administration.
Passengers board an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the evacuation from Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Central Command for Public Affairs)
“Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi was flown to the United States by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Their disastrous America Last foreign policy has made America less safe,” she said in a statement.
Concerns about verification have been expressed by, among others, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the internal oversight body. In 2022, the DHS Office of Inspector General released a report finding that officials “did not always have critical data to properly screen, verify, or inspect evacuees.”
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“As a result, DHS may have admitted to the United States or paroled individuals who pose a threat to national security and the safety of local communities,” the report says.
Pentagon inspector general report that same year, it was revealed that at least 50 evacuees had been brought to the United States with information indicating “potentially serious security concerns” and that officials had failed to locate dozens of people based on derogatory information.
The 2024 report found “gaps” in the two DHS agencies' processes for resolving offensive information. It also found that DHS did not have a process for monitoring the expiration of the two-year parole period and that guidelines for determining parole eligibility for parolees were “undefined.”
However, the Biden administration has repeatedly defended the vetting process, arguing that there is a multi-layered process that includes secret and unclassified vetting, including relying on Pentagon and FBI databases, as well as Interpol notices and other information. She previously objected to the IG's 2022 report, saying it failed to recognize the “unprecedented totality of the government's efforts” and that it saw only one part of the audit process.
“Afghan evacuees seeking to enter the United States were subjected to multiple levels of intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism screening and review,” a DHS spokesman said Wednesday. “If new information becomes available upon arrival, appropriate action will be taken.”
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Officials noted that verification is checking current information “at a specific point in time.” It is still unclear whether there was any derogatory information about Tawhedi before his arrival.
The arrest comes amid broader concerns about potential terrorism by foreign nationals in the US. On Tuesday, Fox News Digital reported that authorities had begun deporting eight Tajik nationals who entered the U.S. through the southern border and were released, but were later found to have alleged ties to ISIS.
Louis Casiano and David Spunt of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
