the veterans community are being put into that process. and simply put, i share our gratitude to them for their incredibly important and passionate advocacy. it is more than a priority for us, it is a deeply held commitment and it is an ongoing one. we are going do do everything that we can to keep it in the weeks and months ahead. the diplomacy is already signed by more than 100 countries and makes clear that the expectations of the taliban lead government, including freedom of travel, upholding the basic rights of afghans, including women and minorities and forming an inclusive government. in a couple of days on sunday, i m going to heading to
men and women were not already out of afghanistan by the time that the evacuation effort began. when we took office, we inherited a backlog of thousands of afghanistan immigrants. going back to march of 2020. covid-19 of course, was a major impediment. as you know, the process for approving a special visa is a lengthy one. there are multiple steps and these are congressional requirements and they include multiple agencies and not just the state department. we were determined to fix this. within two weeks of taking office, we restarted the siv
like? this is a vetting process that takes months, if not years, and it is now, happening in a matter of days for those coming into the country. what can you tell us that is happening with that process? you can bet, sandra, if it is happening in hours or days, there is going to be something missed with certainty. they have had vetting all of the time, and we are pretty comfortable with that. if folks were secondary and someone s family came in that we didn t know, someone s friend, someone s brother this is a big risk to america. and i saw a video of what looked like a chaotic situation at dulles airport. this vetting has to be
of afghanistan. there is also the threat of terrorism, including isis-k and the biden administration must now rely on the taliban for help. john: the vetting process for refugees and lawmakers say they are concerned that the process is being rushed and if the administration is checking for potential criminal records or potential national security issues. first, jackie is live at the white house. reporter: we are waiting to hear from anthony blinken at any moment now. we don t know how many green card holders and american citizens have been left behind.
and either she is lying or doesn t know exactly what is going on. i agree this is a huge, huge national security issue and hopefully, at the press conference today with the secretary, someone is going to ask these questions. the american public has the right to these answers. they are not being properly vetted and we can be assured of that just because of what is happening on the ground and based on the proper process that is in place that takes 18 months, there is no way they are doing it properly. sandra: and the process is going on in texas, virginia, and others. we hope to learn more about that process. hopefully, we are going to learn at the top of the hour when