A White House reporter asked President Joe Biden Wednesday if he had any plans to visit the Afghan refugees arriving in the U.S., to which the president replied that “they [Afghans] are all over the country.”
Brazilian journalist Raquel Krahenbuhl asked Biden if he planned on meeting with any Afghan refugees, a video posted to Twitter shows. “They are all over the country. I’m sure I will be seeing some of them,” Biden said before walking away. The U.S. government is housing almost 20,000 Afghan refugees at military installations in five different states, according to CBS News. (RELATED: Who Are The Afghan Refugees And Where Are They Going When They Come To The US?)
WATCH:
Asked if he plans to meet Afghan refugees, President Biden: “They are all over the country. I’m sure I will be seeing some of them”. pic.twitter.com/lMJCXogkRw
— Raquel Krähenbühl (@Rkrahenbuhl) September 7, 2021
Republicans have criticized Biden’s handling of the Afghan refugees and their arrival in the U.S. Former President Donald Trump said that the U.S. now houses “tens of thousands of totally unvetted Afghans, who many say are not the ones that should have come in” and questioned “how many terrorists are among them,” according to Bloomberg. Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Republican Senate candidate for Ohio J.D. Vance have also chimed in on the handling of refugees.
Touring the Dona Ana camp at Fort Bliss this morning, where Biden admin plans to house 10,000 Afghan refugees.
We should rescue Afghans who’ve assisted the US military, but they should go to a neutral & safe third country.
They should NOT come to US w/o a FULL security vetting. pic.twitter.com/X1rFJiNl74
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 27, 2021
Here is my message to Ben Sasse and other establishment Republicans who seem to care more about bringing 30,000 unvetted Afghan refugees into our country than getting our own people out safely. pic.twitter.com/PSfoc2swdC
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) August 23, 2021
U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck speculated Sept. 3 that the “vast majority” of Afghans are brought into the U.S. as refugees, not Special Immigrant Visa (VIS) applicants. (RELATED: Afghan Women Forced Into Marriages With Men Eligible For Evacuation: REPORT)
A Pentagon official and a second person familiar with the process of security screenings told the Daily Caller that some Afghan refugees have been flagged for possible ties to terrorism. The official said the number of flagged refugees is “0.5% or more.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Small Percentage Of Afghan Refugees Flagged Through Security Screenings For Possible Ties To Terrorism)