Washington, D.C. (January 14, 2025) – A Center for Immigration Studies expert testified today at a Senate Judiciary joint subcommittee hearing warning that the Biden administration’s Afghan parolee program exposes the United States to serious security risks through inadequate vetting and expansive use of temporary parole authority.
Dr. Nayla Rush, a Senior Researcher at CIS, delivered testimony at the hearing titled “Biden’s Afghan Parolee Program – A Trojan Horse with Flawed Vetting and Deadly Consequences”. Her testimony examined the evacuation and subsequent admission of a total of more than 200,000 Afghan nationals, most of whom, she stated, were not U.S. allies eligible for Special Immigrant Visas and did not meet traditional refugee criteria.
Rush noted that Afghan parolees were admitted despite the lack of immigrant visas and were granted broad access to federal benefits, work authorization, Social Security numbers, and long-term assistance, with a cost to the American taxpayer of billions of dollars. She questioned why the administration kept the program open despite known limitations in vetting individuals from conflict zones.
Key points from the testimony included:
- Parole was used as a large-scale admissions mechanism rather than a narrow, temporary tool as required by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- There are no reliable background-check systems for nationals from failed or conflict-state environments.
- Vetting can only assess limited past information and does not address future risks.
- Integration failures and cultural differences pose additional public safety concerns.
Her testimony concluded that the Afghan parole program prioritized speed and volume over security, accountability, and the rule of law, leaving Americans to bear the risks and costs of a system unable to adequately vet or effectively integrate those it admitted.
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