Statement of Senator Peter Welch
On Afghan Refugees
December 17, 2025
Mr. President, I rise to address the situation facing refugees from Afghanistan who were resettled in Vermont, and who, like Afghan refugees in other states, the Trump Administration is now threatening to deport.
Vermont is home to more than 650 Afghans who risked their lives to support the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. They have been welcomed by our communities. They are growing our workforce and tax base and contributing to our economy. A statewide non-profit in Vermont, the Vermont Afghan Alliance, which is largely led by Afghans, helps reunite these Afghans with their families and assists other Afghan refugees when they arrive. They are one of several groups in Vermont doing incredible work to resettle Afghans. These individuals risked their lives for our government, and they did everything we asked of them. And now they have become valued members of our communities.
The U.S. withdrawal in 2021 was chaotic, but the Afghans who fled did so because of a very real fear of persecution. No one can question that. Afghans who had worked with the U.S. military and intelligence community were taken to the airport in Kabul to help secure it before being allowed on a plane. They were told to leave their wives and children behind—assured that their families would come later. They feared for their lives. These individuals had been subjected to rigorous vetting at the time of employment with the U.S. military or intelligence community, and many were vetted again in a third country by an interagency vetting process before coming to the United States.
Once in the United States they were vetted again when applying for an immigration benefit. They were vetted yet again when interviewed by a USCIS officer in the U.S., and in adjusting immigration status. So, our Afghan allies are some of the most thoroughly vetted members of our immigrant community. In fact, they may be the most extensively vetted foreign population in U.S. history.
The vetting is exhaustive, it has spanned years, conducted by multiple agencies and administrations. It has included turning over cell phones to the FBI, providing every address resided at since birth, notification of every biometric exam taken in their lifetimes, and detailed information about the occupations and addresses of family and extended family members.
But as extensive as the vetting was and is, we know that no vetting process is 100 percent foolproof. No one can predict with absolute certainty that a person—regardless of nationality—who is cleared today won’t commit a crime years later.
The horrific, targeted shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guard on November 26th___by an Afghan refugee who was reportedly trained by the CIA—was a terrible crime for which the person responsible should and will be brought to justice.
President Trump’s use of that tragedy to go after a minority community has become a hallmark of this administration’s hostile attitude toward immigrants and refugees. Even though it was the Trump Administration that vetted the accused most recently prior to granting him asylum, President Trump has called for re-vetting all refugees who arrived under President Biden. This includes people from Afghanistan and 18 other countries, some of whom also reside in Vermont. The President has halted resettlement, paused all asylum applications, and called for the removal of anyone deemed a risk.
The fact that an Afghan has been charged with this heinous crime is tragic, but it is no more reasonable to label the entire Afghan refugee community, as well as those from 18 other countries, a security risk than it would be to label all Vermonters a security risk because of the act of one individual who a year ago shot three Palestinian students walking down a street in Burlington. It is wrong to accuse a whole population, whether on religious, racial, ethnic, or other grounds, for the abhorrent act of one individual.
I want to convey my condolences to the family of the West Virginians who were targeted, one of whom, Sarah Beckstrom, died while serving her country. She was only 20 years old and had a promising life ahead of her.
At the same time, I want to express my appreciation to the Afghans who supported our ill-fated mission in Afghanistan, at great risk to themselves, and who as a result had to abandon their country and their families to seek safety in the United States. Five years later, many of them are still waiting to be reunited with their families. Our communities are better for their presence among us.