Grassley says Afghans coming to America as part of Operation Allies need to be vetted

WASHINGTION — The Biden Administration wants to bring 97,000 Afghan refugees into the country.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says it is important to help those who supported America during the war, but he says there have to be conditions. “First of all, are they vetted so that we know there are no terrorists coming in. That would be the main thing,” according to Grassley.  “Then there is a certain percentage of them that we ought to have in this country.  Those people who risked their lives to work with our American troops. Because if they stay over there or are out now, they would be executed the way it is now.”

The Republican says those Afghans would be here legally based on their background. “It would be a case-by-case basis whether they’ve got a good reason to be here. They wouldn’t be considered illegal immigrants at this point.  It would be considered legally in the country until we found that they didn’t have a good excuse to be here,” Grassley says.

The Iowa National Guard says 30 airmen from the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City and the 132nd Wing in Des Moines have received orders for stateside deployment as part of Operation Allies.