Eric Schmitt says Biden 'broke the law' by allowing nearly 200,000 Afghans into the US
WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) said on Thursday, December 4, that former President Joe Biden "broke the law" by allowing nearly 200,000 Afghans into the United States through a humanitarian parole process, and argued that the policy reflected a broader collapse of border and immigration enforcement.
Appearing on Newsmax's 'National Report', Schmitt said that the Afghan parole program is a "real-life example of the disaster that was our open border system and a really broken immigration system that the Biden administration … administered."
Eric Schmitt claims Biden administration took in Afghans without proper vetting
Eric Schmitt said on Thursday that the scale and speed of admissions after the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 led to "suicidal empathy." He added, "This is totally insane. No sane country would do this."
Moreover, the senator argued that the Biden administration took in large numbers of Afghans without sufficient background checks. He said, "Let nearly 200,000 people into your country through this … Afghan parole process and not have any idea who they are."
"You don't know who they are; you don't know their criminal background; you don't know if they're a problem. It's totally insane," Schmitt added.
He called for an immediate halt to further admissions until vetting can be verified, and said, "There needs to be obviously a pause," and those already here must be screened.
On November 26, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was arrested for the shooting of two National Guard members, Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe. He reportedly entered the US in 2021 as part of "Operation Allies Welcome" after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
During his interview, Schmitt also highlighted the financial cost, saying $14 billion was spent to resettle Afghans nationwide. "You have 20 million people who've come here illegally, which has been a disaster for our country, and then you have these kinds of programs," he added.
Schmitt also criticized the use of humanitarian parole, which he noted is intended to be narrow and case-by-case.
"What is that? It means that it's supposed to be individualized … you're individually reviewed, not an entire group of people from one country just because they're from one country," he noted.
"So Biden broke the law when he did this," Schmitt said.
He further suggested that the administration's strategy relied on political inertia once parolees were inside the country. "Their bet … is that once they're here, there won't be the political will to do something about and vet these people and, in fact, deport some of the folks," Schmitt added.
Report claims threats may have pushed shooting suspect into carrying out DC attack
A newly emerged report from The Swamp shows that United States intelligence officials are now investigating claims that a hit squad threatened to kill Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s family in Afghanistan. The allegation suggests they pressured him to open fire on American troops in Washington, DC.
Investigators are apparently trying to understand why a man who passed vetting under two different administrations would carry out such an attack. He had no criminal history and no record of extremism.
However, he drove across the entire country and arrived armed with only a revolver and targeted heavily armed US military personnel.
Sources believe Lakanwal may have been pressured into the attack after threats that his loved ones in Afghanistan would be beaten, killed, or even be***ded if he refused.
An intelligence source told the outlet, "It is by no means our only line of inquiry."
They added, "People in this country have no idea about the level of stress these people are under."