Following a recent attack on US National Guard members by an Afghan national, the Trump administration is now considering large-scale deportations of Afghans brought to the country during the 2021 evacuation, senior defense officials said.
Senior adviser Stuart Scheller from the Department of Defense said nearly 200,000 Afghans arrived in the United States without complete vetting, far higher than the 76,000 publicly acknowledged by the Biden administration.
He warned that the rushed withdrawal and weak screening systems created possible security risks, suggesting that some evacuees might have been linked to militant groups due to limited background checks.
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Scheller added that these gaps allowed individuals with unknown histories to enter the country, saying the earlier process failed to meet the required standards needed to ensure long-term national security.
According to the officials, the Trump administration’s Afghan Review Panel will soon publish its findings, which are expected to detail major weaknesses in the vetting and processing procedures used during the evacuation.
If such action moves forward, Scheller said that the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department would jointly manage removals, using detailed records collected during the evacuation process.
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Officials said the State Department holds complete data on Afghan arrivals in the US and could use this information to support any extensive review ordered by the administration in the coming months.
Sources familiar with the process say a new assessment could open the way for thousands of Afghans to face deportation if significant confirmation issues or security concerns are identified in pending cases.
White House advisers are studying available options as political pressure grows following the National Guard attack, though no final decision on deportations has been announced so far.
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Security agencies say the incident has increased public and political attention on the Afghan resettlement program and boosted demands for a full reassessment of cases approved after the 2021 withdrawal.
