Three weeks ago, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reassured Americans that Afghan refugees, who were sloppily and chaotically put onto flights out of the country while interpreters with Special Immigrant Visa holders were left behind, were fully and properly vetted.
"I can absolutely assure you that no one is coming into the United States of America who has not been through a thorough screening and background check process," Psaki said during the daily briefing on September 1. "There are many individuals who have not gone through that process and they have gone to lily pad countries as that process has been completed. It doesn't mean there is a flag, it means they haven't completed their paperwork."
.@PressSec: "I can absolutely assure you that no one is coming into the United States of America who has not been through a thorough screening and background check process."
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 1, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/MmUn7Aqd6w pic.twitter.com/A0tykC3nFW
But yesterday, two Afghan men were indicted on a series of federal charges, including domestic violence and sex with a minor.
"In unrelated cases, two individuals have been charged with crimes while at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Bahrullah Noori, 20, is charged with attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor using force against that person, and with three counts of engaging in a sexual act with a minor, with one count alleging the use of force. The indictment alleges that the victims had not attained the age of 16 years and were at least four years younger than the defendant," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin released Wednesday evening. "Mohammad Haroon Imaad, 32, is charged with assaulting his spouse by strangling and suffocating her. The indictment alleges that the assault occurred on September 7, 2021."
A number of Afghan men arrived in Wisconsin with child brides, prompting the State Department to ask for guidance since pedophilia is illegal in the U.S. but common practice in Afghanistan.
"U.S. officials at intake centers in the United Arab Emirates and in Wisconsin have identified numerous incidents in which Afghan girls have been presented to authorities as the 'wives' of much older men. While child marriage is not uncommon in Afghanistan, the U.S. has strict policies against human trafficking that include prosecutions for offenders and sanctions for countries that don’t crack down on it," the Associated Press reports. "One internal document seen by The Associated Press says the State Department has sought “urgent guidance” from other agencies after purported child brides were brought to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Another document, described to the AP by officials familiar with it, says Afghan girls at a transit site in Abu Dhabi have alleged they have been raped by older men they were forced to marry in order to escape Afghanistan."
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