Among the more than 100,000 Afghans who left Afghanistan in a hurry during the massive evacuation of the country by the U.S. military in August, federal authorities found “a very small number of ‘individuals who have been indicated by concern’ in transfer sites such as Doha, Qatar to Keri Brady, the deputy director of the National Guidance Center for Customs and Border Protection.
It is unclear what these concerns are, how serious they are, or where these people are being redirected. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to CBS News’ request for clarification.
When they left Afghanistan, Afghans who were able to produce biographical and biometric information were first examined against U.S. databases before they could board aircraft bound for the United States.
Following a primary scrutiny by CBP, some Afghans examined by U.S. officials move to more thorough secondary scrutiny by the FBI.
And DHS has deployed approximately 300 CBP, ICE, TSA and U.S. Coast Guard troops to so-called “lily pad” transit points in Bahrain, Germany, Kuwait, Italy, Qatar, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates to help to conduct other secondary screenings of evacuated Afghans whose backgrounds raise questions, according to a DHS spokesman.
The FBI is present at a select number of these “lily” sites to help streamline biometric and database checks to determine if derogatory information is discovered before migrants travel to the U.S.
Afghans fleeing their homes who were able to produce biographical and biometric information were examined through U.S. databases before being pushed into planes bound for the United States. Upon arrival at Washington Dulles International Airport, all Afghans are subjected to further testing.
“The verification process is tough. It is especially hard in countries with collapsed governments like [Afghanistan]”Former DHS acting delegate Ken Cuccinelli told Fox News on Tuesday.” It is an 18 to 24 month process with 14 different steps. ”
“It’s a massive, complicated undertaking that isn’t risk-free,” former FBI counterterrorism chief John Pistole told CBS News. “So the question is: how to mitigate the risk?”
Last week, the FBI established a command post at its headquarters to detect and address national security or public safety issues associated with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis is currently monitoring “whether people abroad or ISIS elements could use the relocation process as a way to introduce agents who intend to perform an attack on the homeland, ”DHS coordinated against terrorism and the Undersecretary in charge of Intelligence and Analysis. John Cohen said in a call with police officers across the country on Friday.
In the midst of weeks of evacuation, Afghan citizens identified U.S. officials in Kabul as those in need of more planes aboard Doha Air Base in Qatar, where U.S. officials have set a larger footprint. designed to accommodate more exhaustive backgrounds.
According to the office of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, about 24,000 departing from Kabul airport have arrived in Dulles since evacuation work began in earnest. A state official told CBS News that while waiting times for passengers clearing customs “have significantly improved,” evacuees have waited up to 12 hours on the runway and the airport now averages of 10 flights full of people evacuated every day.
This week, Philadelphia International Airport will also begin receiving evacuees.
CBP has not responded to CBS News’ request for comment. ABC News was the first to report Friday’s call to law enforcement.