National Intelligence Director: At Least 2,000 Afghan Refugees Entered U.S. Under Biden’s Withdrawal With Terrorist Links

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed on Friday that at least 2,000 of more than 100,000 Afghan refugees who entered the United States following President Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 have ties to terrorism or are known or suspected terrorists.

In a televised interview, Gabbard pointed back to the summer and fall of 2021 after Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. “There were over 100,000 people who came into our country because of that disastrous withdrawal,” she said. She added that the vast majority of these refugees were not properly vetted “anywhere near the standard we require under this administration.”

During Thursday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent testified that approximately 18,000 “known or suspected terrorists” were allowed to enter the United States under the Biden administration. Kent stated: “These are individuals who under normal circumstances would never be allowed to enter our country because of ties to jihadi groups like ISIS and al-Qaida. Yet, the Biden administration let them into the country and facilitated their entry.”

Gabbard said that Kent’s comments highlight a heightened domestic threat in the United States that has come into focus following the shootings of two National Guard soldiers: U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, who died from her wounds, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, who was critically injured.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan fighter who reportedly served in one of the “Zero Units” led by the CIA, has been charged in the Thanksgiving Eve attack on Washington, D.C. Gabbard noted that such incidents have brought attention to how many individuals with known or suspected ties to Islamic terrorist groups like al-Qaida and ISIS entered the country under the previous administration. She added there are more people “we don’t even know about” due to tens of millions illegally crossing the border over the past four years.

Gabbard praised President Trump for his commitment: “He has been very intent on keeping his promise to the American people to make America safe again, so people can feel safe in their homes and communities.” The intelligence community is working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify potential terrorists and deport them to prevent further attacks. Gabbard stated she does not have the latest numbers due to “the irresponsible and dangerous approach that the Biden administration took.”

She emphasized that through the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI, and Homeland Security, they are “going and actually re-vetting every single one of these individuals.” Gabbard warned that with al-Qaida and ISIS continuing to plan attacks on U.S. soil, the existence of potential terrorists poses the “greatest near- and long-term threat to the safety and security of the American people — to foundational freedoms within our Constitution and western civilization.”

Gabbard also criticized Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., for calling the attack on the National Guard soldiers an “accident” during Thursday’s hearing. She called his comments “absolutely infuriating,” noting that as a senior leader who has long chaired the Homeland Security Committee, he exemplifies “the egregious and long-standing problem we’ve seen: leaders — some on both sides of the aisle — who refuse to identify this Islamist terrorist threat for what it is.”

Sandy Fitzgerald, with over 30 years of journalism experience, covers news, media, and politics.