Some Republican members of Congress are pushing back on Biden administration figures of Americans left behind in Afghanistan after the last U.S. troops left the country on Monday, arguing they do not give the full picture of who is stranded under Taliban rule.
President Joe Biden said in an address Tuesday that “about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan,” and that 90% (which the White House later corrected in a transcript to 98%) “of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave.”
That figure follows the State Department saying Monday, after the last U.S. military plane left Kabul, that the number of Americans left in Afghanistan was below 250.
“It’s impossible at this point to know who’s still there and how many there are,” Rep. Mike Garcia, a California Republican and combat Navy veteran, told the Washington Examiner. “But I do know it’s not 250.”
“Some of these American citizens actually married Afghans and had children. The spouses and the kids ended up not falling into the American citizen bucket.”
The State Department said Wednesday that the number of Americans in Afghanistan is between 100 and 200 — and “likely closer to 100.” It confirmed that the number accounts for U.S. citizens only, not legal permanent residents or immediate family members of U.S. citizens.
“They’re trying to minimize the number,” Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and Green Beret, told Fox News Tuesday. “They’re counting American citizens, not counting green card holders. They’re counting the citizens, but not their family, and then shrugging shoulders and saying it’s a few hundred. It’s disgraceful.”
Republicans voiced their concerns as horror stories about those left behind roll into news feeds and congressional offices.
A school district in Sacramento, California, said Wednesday 27 of its students who are part of 19 families are stuck in Afghanistan. The district has a large population of students of Afghan origin, and the students were in the country to visit family members.
Also among those trapped in Afghanistan are a 3-year-old boy, also from the Sacramento area, who is an American citizen, and his family members, who are all U.S. permanent residents. Under the State Department’s accounting, only the boy, and not those who care for him, is part of the 100-to-200 figure.
The State Department said Wednesday that they “do have a commitment” to lawful permanent residents but could not provide an estimate about the number of those who remain in Afghanistan.
Both Garcia and Waltz have been highly involved in helping coordinate evacuees from Afghanistan over the last few weeks. Congressional offices are getting harrowing reports of Americans and their family members being beaten by Taliban members and talking to those stranded while hearing gunshots in the background.
Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, on Wednesday, tweeted about a pregnant U.S. citizen who “has braved beatings and harassment by the Taliban trying to get past their checkpoints to return to the US.” Earlier this week, he said that two elderly constituents over 80 years old were stranded in the country.
Nasria, a pregnant American citizen, has braved beatings and harassment by the Taliban trying to get past their checkpoints to return to the US. This is one of the individuals we continue to help. All should know the Americans left behind in Afghanistan by President Biden.
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) September 1, 2021
Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, and 25 other senators on Thursday sent a letter to Biden requesting more detailed information about how many U.S. citizens, green card holders, and Special Immigrant Visa applicants that the administration believes remain in Afghanistan.
Notably, the letter also asks the State Department how it reached the estimates for those left and what steps it is taking to identify additional Americans who are in Afghanistan but might not be connected with the state department.
An aide to Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon told the Washington Examiner said he worked with one U.S. citizen who repeatedly tried to sign up for State Department updates but did not get messages for days. The incident raised questions about whether the department systems include a full accounting of the Americans there.
“This is why you don’t pull out the way we pulled out,” Garcia said. “You don’t make a set time frame until you fully characterize and get an actual and accurate manifest of everyone that’s still in the country.”
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Garcia pointed out another reason why the number of people left behind is difficult to measure: the Taliban.
“They’re likely executing SIV’s and American citizens,” Garcia said. “And that number is changing because of the Americans that were left behind or no longer alive.”
