US government ‘struggled to track’ Afghan evacuees who departed military bases after withdrawal: IG – By Brooke Singman , Adam Shaw (FOX News) / Oct 3, 2022
DHS led the interagency effort to support and resettle Afghan evacuees
EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. government “struggled to track” Afghan evacuees who independently departed U.S. military bases designated as “safe havens” after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and did not attempt to locate those individuals to verify their compliance with parole conditions, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general found.
DHS led the interagency effort to support and resettle Afghan evacuees, and established the Unified Coordination Group (USG) to coordinate efforts to provide Afghan evacuees with temporary housing, vaccinations, a tuberculosis screening and immigration processing.
The UCG oversaw operations at eight safe havens, managed by DHS officials, along with representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services.
Under this program, all Afghan evacuees had U.S. citizenship, long-term immigration status, or received parole and “could depart ports of entry or safe havens and could choose to relocate without assistance from a resettlement agency.”