Alejandro Mayorkas Once Admitted ‘Not All’ Afghans Imported by Biden Administration Were Vetted ‘In-Person’



by John Binder 26 Nov 2025

In November 2021, just as former President Joe Biden’s administration was importing thousands of Afghan nationals to the United States every week, then-Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that “not all” Afghans were being vetted with “in-person, refugee interviews,” an admission that shocked members of Congress.

On Wednesday, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal of Afghanistan left two National Guardsmen in critical condition after he allegedly opened fire on them while shouting “Allahu Akbar,” law enforcement officials say.

Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. in 2021 as part of Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, carried out by Mayorkas at the time, which ultimately resettled tens of thousands of Afghans in American communities.

In November 2021, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Mayorkas admitted to members of Congress that not every Afghan national brought to the U.S. following the withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan had been vetted in-person.

“We are not conducting in-person, refugee interviews of 100 percent individuals,” Mayorkas said.

Video at link.

Similarly, in October 2021, an email from a U.S. diplomat at the time of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan confirmed that orders to get Afghan nationals as quickly to the U.S. as possible without following standard refugee vetting procedures came directly from Biden.

The email read:

Team,
President Biden phoned Ambassador Wilson with the following directive about who to clear to board evacuation flights:

“1. Anyone with a valid form of ID should be given permission to go on a plane if the person plausibly falls into the categories we will evacuate U.S. citizens and [legal permanent residents] plus their immediate families, [local embassy staff] plus their immediate families, those entitled to an [Special Immigrant Visa], and Afghans at risk.

2. Families including women and children should be allowed through and held to fill out planes.

3. Total inflow to the U.S. must exceed the number of seats available. Err on the side of excess.”
This guidance provides clear discretion and direction to fill seats and to provide special consideration for women and children when we have eats. I expect that C17 flight volume will increase.

In September 2021, before a Senate hearing, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken also admitted that vetting was unlikely to have occurred for thousands of Afghan nationals before they boarded planes to the U.S.

“What percentage of [Afghans] were vetted before they actually got on those planes?” Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) asked Blinken.

“Before they got on their airplanes to leave Kabul? Certainly not, most of them were not,” Blinken admitted.

Video at link.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...ted-in-person/