II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5118 

To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to 

identify and conduct recurrent vetting of evacuees from Afghanistan 

found not to be properly vetted before entering the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection to identify and conduct recurrent vetting of 

evacuees from Afghanistan found not to be properly vetted before entering the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. AFGHAN VETTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) In the report entitled ‘‘DHS Encountered 

7 Obstacles to Screen, Vet, and Inspect All Evacuees 

8 during the Recent Afghanistan Crisis’’ issued on 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 5118 IS

1 September 6, 2022, the Inspector General of the De2 partment of Homeland Security found that— 

3 (A) the United States welcomed more than 

4 79,000 Afghan evacuees between July 2021, 

5 and January 2022, as part of Operation Allies 

6 Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome; and 

7 (B) the President directed the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security to lead the coordination 

9 across the Federal Government to resettle vul10 nerable Afghans arriving as part of Operation 

11 Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome. 

12 (2) The Office of the Inspector General of the 

13 Department of Homeland Security conducted an 

14 audit to determine the extent to which the Depart15 ment of Homeland Security screened, vetted, and in16 spected evacuees arriving as part of Operation Allies 

17 Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome. 

18 (3) After meeting with more than 130 individ19 uals from the Department of Homeland Security, 

20 the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart21 ment of Homeland Security determined that— 

22 (A) the Department of Homeland Security 

23 encountered obstacles to screening, vetting, and 

24 inspecting all Afghan evacuees arriving as part 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 5118 IS

1 of Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies 

2 Welcome; 

3 (B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

4 did not always have critical data to properly 

5 screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees; 

6 (C) some information used to vet evacuees 

7 through United States Government databases, 

8 such as name, date of birth, identification num9 ber, and travel document data, was inaccurate, 

10 incomplete, or missing; and 

11 (D) U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

12 admitted or paroled into the United States 

13 evacuees who were not fully vetted. 

14 (4) The Office of the Inspector General of the 

15 Department of Homeland Security attributed the 

16 Department of Homeland Security’s challenges with 

17 respect to properly screening, vetting, and inspecting 

18 such evacuees to not having— 

19 (A) a list of evacuees from Afghanistan 

20 who were unable to provide sufficient identifica21 tion documents; 

22 (B) a contingency plan to support similar 

23 emergency situations; and 

24 (C) standardized policies. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 5118 IS

1 (5) As a result, the Department of Homeland 

2 Security may have admitted or paroled individuals 

3 into the United States who pose a risk to the na4 tional security of the United States and the safety 

5 of local communities. 

6 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND RECURRENT VETTING OF

7 EVACUEES FROM AFGHANISTAN.—Not later than 30 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis9 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall— 

10 (1) identify all evacuees from Afghanistan 

11 who— 

12 (A) were paroled into the United States 

13 during the period beginning on July 1, 2021, 

14 and ending on January 31, 2022, as part of 

15 Operation Allies Refuge or Operation Allies 

16 Welcome; and 

17 (B) remain in the United States; 

18 (2) for each such evacuee, conduct a full screen19 ing and vetting, including by consulting all law en20 forcement and international terrorist screening data21 bases, based on the confirmed identity of the evac22 uee; 

23 (3) prioritize the screening and vetting de24 scribed in paragraph (2) for such evacuees who did 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 5118 IS

1 not have documentation of their identity on arrival 

2 in the United States; 

3 (4) establish recurrent and periodic vetting 

4 processes for all such evacuees, including in-person 

5 interviews as necessary; 

6 (5) ensure that such vetting processes are car7 ried out for each such evacuee for the duration of 

8 the authorized period of parole of the evacuee; and 

9 (6) provide to the Director of National Intel10 ligence, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

11 State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the At12 torney General, and the law enforcement agencies of 

13 the State and locality in which each such evacuee is 

14 located evidence that the full screening and vetting 

15 described in paragraph (2), and the recurrent and 

16 periodic vetting processes described in paragraph 

17 (4), have been carried out. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security and the Inspector General of the Department of 

21 Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on 

22 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen23 ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

24 House of Representatives a report on— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 5118 IS

1 (1) the findings and results of the screening 

2 and vetting carried out under subsection (b); and 

3 (2) the number of evacuees who were ineligible 

4 for admission to the United States and, for each 

5 such evacuee, the specific reason the evacuee was 

6 found ineligible. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB