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Since the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington last month, President Trump has clamped down on immigration from Afghanistan. The administration has paused programs Afghans can use to legally come to the U.S., including visas, and has stripped temporary permissions to stay from Afghans who are already here. Among those impacted are Afghan citizens who helped the U.S. during the war. As NPR's Ximena Bustillo reports, some Republicans think these restrictions have gone too far.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Shawn VanDiver is the founder of #AfghanEvac, an organization that advocates for Afghans who supported the U.S. military. He's been tracking how these wartime allies have been impacted by Trump's immigration policies.
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SHAWN VANDIVER: Halting asylum decisions, suspending visa processing for Afghans, rereviewing every refugee admitted under the last administration, while fast tracking others they see as more desirable.
BUSTILLO: Some of these changes came after the deadly shooting of a National Guard member allegedly by an Afghan national. The policy changes have highlighted a rift within the GOP over who should be allowed into the United States. Some Republicans still want to extend a legal pathway. Here, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina talking about the aftermath of the shooting.
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THOM TILLIS: It's unfortunate that it happened, but that by itself can't be a reason to shut down any consideration going forward or even reconsidering some of the other ones.
BUSTILLO: Others like Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine agree with the Trump administration that there needs to be more vetting but not that the program should be shut down.
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SUSAN COLLINS: There are Afghan citizens who acted as guards, drivers, interpreters, cooks for our troops. So I think the answer is more intensive and careful vetting.
BUSTILLO: And others, like Republican Senator James Lankford, who sits on the Homeland Security Committee, say it's not Congress' job to intervene.
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JAMES LANKFORD: Primarily that's an executive branch issue. The vetting process does exist and is out there. It's just a matter of its execution at this point or making...
BUSTILLO: The suspected shooter was approved for asylum earlier this year, but it's unclear what additional vetting could've helped. He had previously worked for a unit of the CIA. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the Afghan national had been radicalized after coming to the U.S. A spokesperson for the department told NPR the safety of the American people always comes first when asked about the policy changes. Still, some advocates, like VanDiver, say Congress is not doing enough to stand up for America's allies after a long war.
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VANDIVER: Instead of asserting its constitutional role, Congress has allowed itself to be sidelined, failing to provide meaningful oversight. The vacuum they have left is being filled with fearmongering, not facts, politics, not policy.
BUSTILLO: Some lawmakers had added a bipartisan provision to the national defense policy bill that would've brought back a State Department office that relocates Afghan refugees, but House GOP leaders pulled it out of the bill that they voted on this past week.
Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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