Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., blasted the president’s decision to send an unspecified number of Afghan refugees to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin as the U.S. grapples with the collapse of the Afghan government and the return of the Taliban.
Tiffany says as many as 5,000 Afghan refugees per day, some without identity papers, are being settled in military facilities around the country with no effective plan to track them.
Rep. Tom Tiffany on Afghan refugees coming to Wisconsin: “Alarmingly, the White House has also declined to say whether these individuals will be held in custody during vetting, or if we will see the same kind of catch-and-release policy we’ve seen on our southern border.” pic.twitter.com/cHQm7sj6yg
— Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) August 18, 2021
The Department of Defense said previously that it has plans to settle up to 30,000 Afghans who worked with the U.S. military in facilities around the country as the government sorts through their visa applications, the New York Post reported.
“Alarmingly, the White House has also declined to say whether these individuals will be held in custody during vettin,g or if we will see the same kind of catch-and-release policy we’ve seen on our southern border,” said Tiffany,
“Adding insult to injury, President Biden has not bothered to seek the approval of Wisconsin leaders, or the local communities that will be affected by this haphazard plan,” he added.
The country has recoiled over images of Afghans panicking with the return of the Taliban to the national capital of Kabul. Over the weekend video surfaced of desperate Afghans clinging to U.S. military transports as they took off for the U.S.
Tiffany said the he does not oppose resettlement of Afghans who helped the U.S. during the war. He just wants the resettlement effort managed better than the immigration surge at the southern border.
“The White House should abandon this dangerous, ready-fire-aim plan and mitigate risk by transporting Afghans to safe third countries for vetting before bringing thousands of unknown people into Wisconsin or other U.S. states,” said Tiffany.
“To be clear, I voted for legislation to expand, improve and accelerate the processing of visas for Afghans who assisted in the U.S. war effort earlier this year—something that most Americans support,” he said.
That plan, said Tiffany, would have used a third country for processing before the Afghans were allowed to settle in the U.S.
Instead, the Democrats voted down that alternative in favor of the current plan, which Tiffany believes will degrade national security.
