Skip to playerSkip to main content
Forbes Breaking News
  • 5 months ago
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) asked Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker about
Transcript
00:00Thank you sir. Thank you Chair now recognizes Representative Johnson. Thank
00:12you so much Mr. Chairman. Madam Under Secretary thank you so much for joining
00:17us today. I was glad to hear Deputy Secretary Regas in his testimony last
00:23week affirm the importance of keeping our commitment to our Afghan allies.
00:28These are family members of Afghan American US military personnel, children
00:33cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans have already admitted
00:37and tens of thousands of Afghans who have worked for the United States
00:41government during the 20-year war who were promised the pathway and fully vetted
00:46but now are stranded and waiting. But the department's fiscal year 2026 budget did
00:52not include funding to continue operation enduring welcome. The whole of government
00:57relocation effort and the State Department reorganization abolishes the
01:01offices that were going to do this work and the administration has ended temporary
01:06protected status for Afghans putting these brave individuals at risk of being sent
01:11back as sitting ducks for the Taliban to target. They face retribution for believing
01:16in America's promise and something better but many of the Afghan allies who were
01:21able to make it here to the United States still cannot feel safe. In fact I have a
01:26constituent who was an Afghan ally now detained by ICE with no given reason and
01:31sent to another state. So my question ma'am is what is the State Department doing to
01:36work with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that DHS does not
01:40swoop in and steal our Afghan allies who are here legally?
01:45Thank you Congresswoman for that question and I will defer you to DHS for those
01:50specific cases and how they're how they're working on those issues. What I can
01:56tell you is that the administration cares very deeply about our Afghan our Afghan
02:05former colleagues and those who were committed to helping the United States in
02:09Afghanistan. As you noted there have been quite a number of Afghanistans who have
02:16been resettled Afghans who have been resettled in the United States. There
02:20were there have been a 400,000 who have been resettled in the US since 2021. We're
02:27continuing. But but the State Department is revoking their protective status and so
02:32you know what are we going to do to help those folks? That's my question is why are we doing this and has the
02:39department the State Department assessed whether Afghans who were connected to the
02:43US mission or the former Afghan government are a greater risk of
02:47retaliation once they return to Afghanistan? Thank you Congresswoman for
02:52that question. The vetting process for bringing Afghans here to the United States
02:58is we take that as a very serious issue. Every visa that we have that we have
03:04provided it's a national security decision. So just you raised earlier the vetting
03:10process and so we're we're taking that into we're very serious about about that
03:17process. We've seen failures of our vetting process produce almost catastrophic
03:23results. There was a situation last fall where someone who had admitted admitted to
03:29the United States had been planning a terrorist attack and in Oklahoma City
03:34fortunately that was thwarted but it just highlights just how serious that each
03:39of these visa conferences. I understand that ma'am but that doesn't imply that one
03:43bad apple spoils the bunch. You know there's always criminal threats from every
03:49sector of every society and every country every race every everything and it's we
03:53have the best law enforcement in the world to be able to assess out those threats
03:57but that doesn't mean that you retaliate and punish all those who are here who
04:02are doing good who put their lives on the line. I'm also concerned that you know
04:09now that administration has terminated all of our assistance to Afghanistan our
04:13remaining leverage comes from the world standing united against recognizing the
04:18Taliban as a legitimate government but on July 3rd Russia became the first
04:22country to full fully diplomatically recognize the Taliban. Did the
04:26administration take any action to press punish Russia for this outrageous move?
04:32Thank you Congresswoman. I do have to say that the United States has not
04:37terminated all of its assistance to Afghanistan. Our the office formerly known
04:43as care all of those functions continue as we've talked about today under the
04:49oversight and direction of our regional bureau responsible which is the South and
04:53Central Asia bureau in the Department of State. So all those functions with regard
05:00to assistance to Afghanistan and to to Afghans that remain in the region all of
05:08that continues. I just want to be be clear on that point. Thank you ma'am.
05:12Unfortunately I'm out of time. I yield back. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
05:15Representative yields back. Representative Huizenga is recognized.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment

Recommended

'Shouldn't The State Department Have Input?': Gabe Amo Grills Top Trump Official
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'Morally Outrageous': Julie Johnson Slams Trump For Revoking TPS For Afghans Who Served With US
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
Julie Johnson Shreds Governor Greg Abbott For Trying 'To Kick 95,000 People Off' Of The Voter Rolls
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'More Aligned With Marx Than Madison': Scott Perry Asks Trump Official About State Dept. DEI Program
Forbes Breaking News
4 months ago
Top Trump Official Shreds Biden's 'Structurally Flawed' State Department
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
Julia Johnson Accuses Trump Admin Of Taking ‘Wrecking Ball’ To Foreign Policy Without Oversight
Forbes Breaking News
8 months ago
'The President Wants Us To Pay More?': Sydney Kamlager-Dove Grills Top Trump Official Over Tariffs
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'I Think That's Hilarious': Rich McCormick Tees Off On Democrats' Foreign Aid Rhetoric
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'That's A Pathetic Statement!': Julie Johnson Clashes With Kari Lake Over VOA
Forbes Breaking News
6 months ago
‘Complete Waste Of Time’: Julie Johnson Rails Against House GOP For Gulf Of America Renaming
Forbes Breaking News
8 months ago
'There's No Plan?': Gregory Meeks Stunned By State Department Official's Answer On Staffing Cuts
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'They Are More Afraid Of A Tweet Of One Man Than The Wrath Of Their Voters'_ Julie Johnson Rips GOP
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
Jim Baird Questions Top Trump Official About China's Influence In Africa
Forbes Breaking News
4 months ago
'Phone Calls Were Never Answered!': Texas Dem Julie Johnson Rips Kristi Noem Over TX Flood Response
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
Gregory Meeks Confronts Top Trump State Official Over Staffing Cuts At State Department
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'I Wish You Would Just Do Your Jobs': Kathy Hochul Fires Back Donalds During Exchange Over Immigration
Forbes Breaking News
7 months ago
'Blatant Disregard For Due Process': Angie Craig Blasts Trump Admin's Deportations
Forbes Breaking News
6 months ago
'There Is A Pattern Here': Sarah McBride Blasts Trump's Epstein 'Cover-Up'
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
'It's Tell The Truth Time': Jeff Van Drew Tees Off On Dems Over Attacks On Trump's Immigration Policy
Forbes Breaking News
6 months ago
Speaker Johnson Pressed On 'Using The Rules Of The House To Effectively Protect Trump'
Forbes Breaking News
8 months ago
'They Are More Afraid Of A Tweet Of One Man Than The Wrath Of Their Voters': Julie Johnson Rips GOP
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick Presses Trump Official Over State Department Staffing Cuts
Forbes Breaking News
5 months ago
House Foreign Affairs Committee Holds Hearing On State Department Authorization As Trump Pushes Reorganization
Forbes Breaking News
8 months ago
Is There Actually An Ambition Gap Between Women And Men?
Forbes
23 hours ago
How Pia Mance Turned Nine Hundred Dollars Into $10 Million In Sales At Heaven Mayhem
Forbes
23 hours ago