GOP Congressman claims unvetted Afghan refugees are being given free reign of Virginia base

A Republican congressman from Tennessee has claimed that Afghan refugees are being given ‘free reign’ of the military base in Virginia where they’re being housed as their Special Immigration Visas are processed.

Rep. Mark Green wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday claiming that an anonymous source from Fort Pickett told him that the refugees have even been allowed to leave the base in Ubers unchallenged.

The allegations made by Green, a combat veteran who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, have not been confirmed. 

Most Afghan refugees, who helped the American military during the War on Terror, are being housed in third-party countries before their arrival in the United States. 

Some, who were in latter stages of their approval process for their SIVs, have completed at least partial vetting and were taken to military bases in the U.S. to complete the process after they were deemed safe enough to be on American soil. 

Rep. Mark Green wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday

Green claimed that an anonymous source from Fort Pickett told him that the refugees have even been allowed to leave the base in Ubers unchallenged

‘I am writing to express deep concerns about the Afghan evacuees who are being held at Fort Pickett while awaiting the vetting process,’ Green wrote in his letter to Blinken.

‘I have recently been made aware by someone at Fort Pickett that the evacuees basically have free rein of the complex and have even been allowed to leave despite not having completed the vetting process.’

He continued: ‘My source has made shocking allegations, including multiple incidents of sexual assault, and several evacuees have been picked up by Uber drivers without any permission from authorities â€" or being cleared to leave.’ 

Green claimed that his source told him that soldiers tasked with guarding these evacuees are ‘unarmed’ and ‘have no authority to arrest or stop any of them from simply leaving.’

‘I know firsthand that we have a responsibility to those who risked their lives to serve as interpreters for our troops. Their bravery and valiance helped save many American lives,’ Green said.

‘However, in recent days, reports indicate that the vast majority of evacuees were not interpreters, and the fact that the State Department has still not been able to provide a breakdown is simply unacceptable.’

Traffic moves toward a tank and sign at the main entrance to Fort Pickett on August 25

A military truck exits the main gate to Fort Pickett on August 25, where Afghan refugees who have been prescreened by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have been taken

Afghan passengers board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 22

Green sent a letter to Secretary of State Blinken on Wednesday about Afghan refugees

Green demanded that the Secretary of State ‘immediately’ address the allegations, which if true ‘pose a serious risk to our national security,’ he claimed.

The congressman claimed he is talking to ‘sources at multiple locations’ who he said told him that the issues are not just happening at Fort Pickett.

‘The real challenge here is directions from State. The DoD is getting its directions on how to handle these situations by the State Department. The State Department is failing to give them adequate information,’ Green said.

 â€˜They don’t know exactly how many are even there so they can’t account for someone if they don’t return.’

He added: ‘And they are telling the people if you go and you don’t come back, that will end your Visa processing. If they want free, they are gone. There is nobody keeping them from leaving.’

Afghan refugees are being housed at a number of U.S. military bases around the world

Green claimed that the United States does not have biometric data such as fingerprints for a ‘good portion’ of the Afghan refugees and that his sources have told him members of the Taliban have arrived in the United States.

‘We can’t really get information from State because they won’t provide names, they want to provide any information on the people; the numbers that they have,’ Green said.

‘They won’t even tell us how many American citizens they evacuated. We tried to get them that number requested through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) the other day and I could not get that past. It is just crazy. This State Department is a complete failure.’

He added: ‘So this is one of the greatest security risk this nation has ever had and this president and this State Department don’t seem to care.’ 

Fort Bliss â€" one of seven military bases housing Afghan evacuees â€" is caring for refugees at a purpose-built housing area at the Dona Ana Range Complex (pictured) in New Mexico 

The Department of Defense is providing transportation and temporary housing in support of Operation Allies Refuge. Pictured: Cots are lined up at the facility in preparation for the arrival of refugees 

An official collecting donations for the camp told DailyMail.com most of the refugees arrived with nothing more than a change of clothes and would not be able to afford the $56 cost of an Uber ride to downtown El Paso as Cruz claimed 

DailyMail.com exclusively reported last week from the remote Fort Bliss subcamp where Afghan refugees are being housed while awaiting new homes in the U.S.

The Texas army base is caring for the Afghan newcomers in a purpose-built housing area at the Dona Ana Range Complex just across the border in New Mexico.

The heavily guarded facility has been closed to the outside world since the first of the 2,160 Afghans currently at the camp arrived â€" with a heavy security presence made up of 1,000 soldiers and military cops patrolling the roads surrounding it.

When a DailyMail.com team attempted to visit, military police stopped us getting within a mile of the property and told us not to take photos from a distance.

While politicians from Texas and New Mexico have been allowed into the facility, their visits took place with a military escort â€" both Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar were allowed in last week.

The heavily guarded facility has been closed to the outside world since the first of the 2,160 Afghans currently at the camp arrived. DailyMail.com has learned none of the refugees have left and they are expected to stay there until their applications are processed

President Biden announced on Sunday evening that the Department of Homeland Security would be the lead agency coordinating ongoing efforts across the federal government to resettle the Afghan refugees (pictured arriving in Virginia on Tuesday)

A spokesman for Fort Bliss told DailyMail.com that the Pentagon and the State Department are making decisions on visitors on a case-by-case basis â€" so far, no media organizations have been allowed in.

The heavily guarded facility was thrust into the spotlight this week following Cruz’s visit. He claimed afterwards that refugees were getting Uber rides into downtown El Paso, 30 miles away.

‘The leadership at Fort Bliss told me about one of the refugees who called an Uber and took an Uber to downtown El Paso and they are not detaining anyone there so if 10,000 refugees arrive there, every one of those 10,000 can choose to leave tomorrow,’ he said after his visit. 

Cruz also said he thinks Afghan refugees should be resettled in third countries rather than within the US.

But DailyMail.com can reveal that none of the Afghans at Dona Ana have left the camp and that most are expected to stay until their visa process has been completed and permanent housing has been found.

Asked whether an Uber could make it to Dona Ana, a soldier at the complex told DailyMail.com: ‘No Afghans are getting Ubers. The Ubers would be stopped before they could get in there anyway.

‘The Afghan refugees can leave once their paperwork has been processed. They have to wait for that before they go.

‘The base is also being used for evacuated American citizens â€" American citizens with all their documents can leave any time they want.’

Ted Cruz claimed Afghan refugees can call an Uber to leave their holding location in the U.S. â€" above the Republican senator from Texas takes an aerial tour of Fort Bliss

George Elsaesser is the Executive Director of the Armed Forces YMCA El Paso which is handling donations for the Afghan families at Dona Ana.

He said most of the refugees had arrived with nothing more than a change of clothes after having their possessions taken by the Taliban and would not be able to afford the $56 cost of an Uber ride to downtown El Paso.

He told DailyMail.com: ‘I personally don’t appreciate that kind of rhetoric. I did not go on the tour of the facility or fly over it with Ted Cruz, I did not talk to Ted Cruz.

‘On a personal level, it’s a little annoying [to hear]. But he’s a politician and politicians do what politicians do.’

Elsaesser added: ‘The families would go to the airport with their bags and everything trying to get on the plane. The Taliban would end up stopping them.

‘Every time they saw someone with a backpack or a bag, they would end up stopping them because they knew they were trying to travel.

‘A lot of these families are leaving with nothing because if they have a bag, they get stopped so they have whatever they could fit in their pockets. That’s what they have. They’re showing up with their babies and the clothes on their backs.

‘Fort Bliss is providing housing, a place to lay their head down and sleep, a place to eat, a place to take care of their family while they decide what we’re going to do with these people.’ 

Source: Daily Mail

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