Joe Edlow, President Donald Trump’s top deputy for visas, ordered a security review last week of the many Afghan refugees recklessly admitted by former President Joe Biden’s pro-migrant deputies.
The review was immediately slammed by several pro-migration groups, including groups that helped import unscreened Afghan migrants into the United States.
The groups have also stepped up lobbying for the transfer of more migrants into American communities. On the day before the D.C. shooting, advocates showcased a protest by Afghans in Doha, Qatar, demanding visas to the United States:
The Associated Press (AP) reported the new review on Tuesday, one day before the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard troops allegedly perpetrated by an Afghan migrant:
[A] memo, signed by the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, and dated Friday, said that during the Biden years “expediency” and “quantity” were prioritized over “detailed screening and vetting.” The memo said that warranted a comprehensive review and “re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025.”
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If the agency determines that a person shouldn’t have qualified for entry as a refugee, the person “has no right to appeal,” according to the memo … The memo also stated that even those who have already received their green card would be reviewed.
In September 2022, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General issued a shocking report that showed how Biden’s deputies imported Afghans who were “not fully vetted” and could “pose a risk to national security.” Biden’s top migration deputy was DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In October, Trump shut down the Afghan inflow and capped the total number of global refugees to be imported at 7,500. The number is far below the 125,000 migrants planned by Biden’s deputies.
Trump’s tightened security has already blocked some Afghan migrants, including at least one with a valid visa:
Unsurprisingly, pro-migration activists immediately howled at Edlow’s policy of protecting Americans.
“This directive is cruel, illegal, and a massive waste of limited USCIS resources,” said the Refugee Council USA. “All refugees in the U.S. have gone through an extremely extensive vetting and screening process and are some of the most vetted travelers in the world – checks that were continuously improved throughout the Biden administration.”
HIAS, one of the government-funded organizations that was paid to settle migrants in the United States, issued a November 25 statement against the review:
“This plan is shockingly ill-conceived,” said Naomi Steinberg, HIAS Vice President of U.S. Policy and Advocacy. “… This is a new low in the administration’s consistently cold-hearted treatment of people who are already building new lives and enriching the communities where they have made their homes.”
“Requiring people who spent years undergoing extensive screening to relive the trauma of the violence and persecution that forced them to flee their homes is a waste of resources that will inflict gratuitous harm on members of our communities working to rebuild their lives,” claimed Church World Service.
