Austin News

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, along with several other Republican senators, has addressed a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The letter seeks clarification on the vetting process of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national who was recently arrested in connection with a plot to commit violence on behalf of ISIS in the United States on Election Day.

The group of senators expressed their concerns over the potential exploitation of weaknesses in the U.S. immigration system by foreign extremists. They wrote: “We remain deeply troubled by the increasing likelihood that foreign extremists may successfully exploit the weaknesses of our immigration system or our southern border to commit an act of political violence or an act of terror here on U.S. soil, and the policies of the Biden-Harris administration have only made matters worse.”

According to reports from Fox News, Tawhedi was not approved for a special immigrant visa and was reportedly not well-known to U.S. authorities when he entered the country. This contradicts claims from the Justice Department that Tawhedi had entered on a special immigrant visa.

The senators highlighted what they perceive as a failure by DHS to properly vet Afghan parolees brought into the U.S., particularly following President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan. The letter noted that more than 77,000 Afghans were paroled into the U.S., often without complete security checks.

A report from May 2024 by DHS's Office of Inspector General identified significant gaps in monitoring parole expiration and responding to derogatory information about Afghan parolees.

The lawmakers are requesting access to Tawhedi’s alien file and related records before November 1, 2024, stating: “This ongoing failure to protect Americans from potential terroristic threats is unacceptable and it is only a matter of time before it yields deadly results.”