Wisconsin Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) shared concerns in a Fox News interview about Afghan refugees coming and going from Fort McCoy unsupervised. Tiffany visited Fort McCoy, a base hosting Afghan refugees, in late August.
He said that it was concerning to him that Afghan refugees could just leave the base without the permission of the general overseeing Fort McCoy.
Tiffany said in his interview with Fox News that not a single one of the Afghan refugees had a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). Instead of having visas, the immigrants were in the United States “on parole.”
Tiffany shared that the process to obtain a SIV can take up to two years, to find out if a person should actually be coming into the United States. The ability to give “parole” to immigrants comes from the Department of Homeland Security. The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security can “just wave people in,” according to Tiffany.
Tiffany said, “The Biden administration has circumvented the SIV process and they are just bringing people in on parole.”
“There are Afghans that should be allowed to come into our country,” Tiffany continued, referencing many sacrifices made by Afghan citizens in resisting the Taliban.
Tiffany suggested that the refugees “go to a safe third country” and be thoroughly vetted there.
“84% of the people that in the first quarter of this year that tried to get an SIV in Afghanistan, they were rejected. Only 16% were able to get in. This has to be a thorough vetting process,” Tiffany explained.
Tiffany’s belief is that the “Biden administration is circumventing” the SIV process.
Tiffany also wrote a letter to Secretary Anthony Blinken and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding answers in regards to the vetting process.
His letter reads, “The American people have repeatedly been assured by the Biden administration that Afghannationals are being ‘fully vetted,’ despite thousands of individuals – many without visas or even basic identity documents – clearing screening procedures that normally take months or years in just days or weeks.”
In the letter, Tiffany also addressed his concerns about the Afghan refugees leaving bases unmonitored.
He wrote, “Making matters worse, thousands of Afghans have reportedly been allowed to enter the country through ‘parole’ – sidestepping standard visa rules – and in many cases are under no obligation to remain inside the bases where they are currently being held.”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “U.S. Army Fort McCoy” by Jonathunder CC BY-SA 3.0.
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