US considering returning some Afghan evacuees who do not pass security clearance

Washington [US], November 20 (ANI): The Biden administration is considering sending some of the Afghan evacuees who are stranded at the US military base Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo and fail to clear the intense vetting process, according to three US officials familiar with the matter.

A return to Afghanistan is only one option on the table — and comes with complicated legal questions — but it is being studied as US officials have yet to develop an overall plan for how to handle the challenge of where to resettle Afghans if they do not clear the US security clearance process, reported CNN.

Afghan refugees who are still living in Kosovo are the people who have failed the security screening and have not been settled in any country yet. Hundreds of Afghans are stranded in a military base in Kosovo who was evacuated during the chaotic evacuation of the US in August. The total number of Afghans evacuated to the US from August 15 until the end of August amounted to 70,000.

The number of evacuees at the base is small — roughly 200 individuals, including family members, according to a source familiar, and the administration has an agreement with the government of Kosovo to house them there for up to a year, reported CNN. There is concern among some US officials and lawmakers that if any evacuees are ultimately not cleared to come to the US, there are few suitable options for them, and that they could end up waiting on the US base long-term.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the situation told CNN that there is a sense of trepidation among the Afghan community members at the base, many of whom don’t know why they have been sent there or how long they will be there and worry they will be stigmatized as “terrorists” for having been processed there.

The senior administration official said that the kind of security flags that have led people to be transferred to Bondsteel from other transit locations in Europe and the Middle East are generally not those “that can be resolved within hours or even within days.”

The official noted that certain types of vetting can be more complicated and can involve getting FBI or other interviewers involved for questioning about the information the US has come across, reported CNN. National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said that “all Afghans hoping to begin new lives in America must first pass our security screening and vetting process and receive necessary vaccinations before they are permitted to enter the United States.”

“The fact that some people have been flagged by our counterterrorism, intelligence or law enforcement professionals for additional screening shows our system is working,” she continued. (ANI)