Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday declined to answer questions about an Afghan national charged with an Election Day terror plot on behalf of ISIS amid ongoing concerns about vetting people brought into the U.S.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich questioned Mayorkas at a White House briefing on the case of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who was arrested and charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and receiving a firearm in furtherance of a felony or federal terrorism offense.
The case file initially showed that Tawhedi entered the United States on a Special Immigrant Visa in September 2021 after the United States withdrew from Afghanistan and is currently on parole, although officials have since clarified that he came to the United States on parole from on humanitarian grounds and later applied for SIV status.
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Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks on October 1, 2024, during a briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Heinrich asked Mayorkas how he came to the United States and passed the screening. Mayorkas, however, said he wanted to focus on the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton. He was in North Carolina and participated in the briefing remotely.
“More than 200 people lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Helene. We have reports that at least ten people lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Milton. “I would be very happy to answer your question in a different context, but we are here to talk about emergencies and the support we can provide to people in desperate need,” he said.
Heinrich asked again, specifically asking why he hadn't prepared a response, but Mayorkas said he hadn't.
“I said I would be happy to discuss this issue at another time, but I am here to talk about disasters that have impacted people's lives in real time. And I will deal with this topic today,” he said. he said.
Heinrich asked again, but Mayorkas again refused.
“Jacqui, your persistence in asking questions may be matched by my persistence in answering,” he said.
After the exchange, a senior administration official told Fox News that Tawhedi had been shown three times. He was first cleared to work for the CIA in Afghanistan as a security guard, then to be granted humanitarian parole to enter the US in 2021 – where he was cleared and cleared in a third country – and then to obtain special immigrant status, for which he obtained consent. His status has not yet been determined. Officials now believe he was radicalized after arriving in the U.S
There is also no indication that there were any red flags that should have prevented him from entering at any stage of the process. His alleged co-conspirator in the case entered the country in 2018 and also passed the background check to obtain a green card.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi makes the “Tawhid” gesture. (Department of Justice)
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During the 2021 evacuation, the United States received more than 97,000 evacuees, of which approximately 77,000 were admitted on humanitarian parole through a program called Operation Allies Welcome.
But the new case has reignited concerns about program verification that have been raised for years by DHS's internal watchdog and Republicans in Congress. In 2022 DHS Office of Inspector General released a report finding that officials “did not always have critical data to properly screen, verify, or inspect evacuees.”
“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.
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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.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly defended the vetting process, arguing that there is a multi-layered process that includes secret and unclassified vetting, including Pentagon and FBI databases, as well as Interpol notices and other information.
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“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.”
But the latest revelation has only fueled Republican fears. In a letter to Mayorkas on Tuesday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said it was “unacceptable for the Biden-Harris administration to falter in failing to take measures to protect U.S. national security by allowing suspected terrorists to enter the interior of the United States to plot attacks terrorist.”
Fox News' Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
