Tenn. Governor, U.S. senators pen letter demanding answers on Afghan evacuee resettlement

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and United States Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty sent a letter toSecretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers about President Biden's plan to resettle hundreds of Afghan evacuees in Tennessee.

Gov. Lee says more than 400 refugees could resettle in the state, with about 300 evacuees coming to Nashville.

ALSO READ: How Nashville is preparing to take in hundreds of Afghan refugees fleeing from Taliban

"We all ultimately answer to the American public, and the public deserves transparency and information regarding how this resettlement process is working so that they can understand and accurately judge its efficacy," the letter to SecretaryMayorkas reads.

The letter also issues the following questions to Secretary Mayorkas:

(1) What steps are being taken to assist U.S. citizens and partners left behind in Afghanistan?

(2) What is the timeline for resettling the 415 persons evacuated from Afghanistan and proposed for resettlement into Tennessee? Is this number the first group of evacuees to be resettled in Tennessee, or the complete total?

(3) Of these 415 persons, how many are Lawful Permanent Residents, how many are Special Immigrant Visa Holders, and how many are P-1 or P-2 status? How many will be on parole status? And if you lack that information now, will you commit to providing it once it is available?

(4) For those on parole status, what vetting has taken place before they are paroled into the United States? What vetting has not taken place in such cases? How will you ensure that any concerns that arise from such post-parole vetting can be addressed?

(5) How is it determined whether refugee status or parole into the United States is appropriate in the case of a person who is evacuated from Afghanistan, but for whom the interagency vetting of biographical or biometric information provides no additional or corroborating information regarding the person?

(6) What specific criteria dictate whether Afghan nationals without visa status qualify for refugee status or parole into the United States for humanitarian reasons?

(7) An Operation Allies Refuge summary document states that: “Those that do not clear secondary processing and are found to be inadmissible are placed into ICE custody pending removal proceedings.” Does that mean someone could be paroled into the United States, subsequently not clear secondary processing, and then be removed from the United States?

At the end of the letter, Senators Blackburn and Hagerty along with Gov. Lee say they are welcoming an open discussion on their questions.

Read the full letter here.

Get reports like this and all the news of the day in Middle Tennessee delivered to your inbox each morning with the FOX 17 News Daily Newsletter.