A Department of Homeland Security inspector general review found errors in 40% of sampled asylum cases involving Afghans who entered the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, according to DHS. The department said the failures allowed some applicants' aliases to go unchecked against government information that could have affected their eligibility for asylum.

The Biden administration launched Operation Allies Welcome in August 2021 after the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan. The program was designed to evacuate and resettle vulnerable Afghans, with roughly 97,000 evacuees eventually arriving in American communities. Earlier DHS inspector general work also found problems with screening and vetting during the evacuation, including cases in which critical information was unavailable or incomplete.

The latest review examined how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services handled asylum applications from people admitted through the program. Congress had required USCIS to interview eligible OAW asylum applicants within 45 days, while a 2023 settlement required the agency to decide 90% of those applications within 150 days.

USCIS employees warned that the accelerated deadlines could make it more difficult to thoroughly examine individual applications. The inspector general's review, conducted from March 2024 through January 2025, found that some aliases applicants provided were not properly checked against databases that could have affected their cases.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin sharply criticized the previous administration's handling of the program, arguing that established asylum procedures were disregarded in favor of moving applicants through the system more quickly.

The department also pointed to several criminal and national security cases involving Afghans admitted through Operation Allies Welcome. In November 2025, DHS assisted the FBI in arresting an Afghan national admitted through OAW who was charged with threatening to kill Americans. In December, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an individual identified as an ISIS-K member who had entered through the program.

ICE and USCIS also arrested an Afghan national in March who had been admitted through OAW and had previously been convicted of indecent exposure involving a minor, according to DHS.

The inspector general has previously documented broader vulnerabilities in the program. A 2024 report found that DHS had a fragmented process for identifying and resolving derogatory information involving OAW parolees, creating gaps between agencies responsible for immigration enforcement and monitoring.

Another inspector general review found that information used to vet Afghan evacuees was sometimes inaccurate, incomplete, or missing. The review determined that DHS had paroled at least two evacuees into the United States who posed potential risks to national security or local communities.

The findings have renewed criticism from lawmakers and immigration enforcement advocates who questioned the adequacy of the vetting process during the Afghanistan withdrawal. The latest report adds to a series of inspector general reviews documenting weaknesses in the screening, tracking, and follow-up procedures surrounding Operation Allies Welcome.

The 40% figure refers to errors identified in the inspector general's sampled cases, rather than establishing that 40% of all Afghans admitted through the program were improperly vetted or posed a security threat. DHS nevertheless argues that the failures created opportunities for applicants with potentially disqualifying information to pass through the asylum process without proper review.