John Fetterman Directly Asks Kristi Noem For Help Saving Afghan Allies Trying To Get Refuge In US

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At today's Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) questioned DHS Sec. Kristi Noem.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:02Senator Fetterman.

00:10Secretary.

00:11Hi.

00:12Hello.

00:13As you may know, I'm from Pennsylvania.

00:16And I occupy perhaps a unique position.

00:22I've been very, very, very pro-immigration,

00:25but I early identified the serious problem about the border, the security.

00:32And I've said this publicly, I'll say it now,

00:34that my party failed to secure our border.

00:38And we deserve to pay a political price for that.

00:41And I've been trying to find a way forward to move forward on those things.

00:45I voted for you,

00:47not because you and I agree on a lot of political things

00:50and we're in different parties,

00:52but you're the secretary and I'm a member of this committee,

00:55so I believe we have to find a way to work forward together.

00:58And I'm not here for fireworks or to try to create, like,

01:02something to be clipped on TV.

01:05I'm honestly coming, you know, asking for your help about a situation here.

01:09So now, you know, I have a constituent.

01:12His name's Ramin.

01:13And he's an Afghani who served alongside our service members there in the war.

01:19He is a resident of Philadelphia.

01:22Now, he's a surgeon and he saved American lives.

01:25And now he is waiting to be approved like a green card.

01:29And now he helped evacuate our forces through an airlift.

01:34Now, and his two brothers, and of course we can't name them due to their concerns,

01:39but they're trapped in Pakistan and the risk for removal for Afghanistan.

01:44And they face torture and death because of their commitment for a free and democratic Afghanistan.

01:50They've saved American lives and they have defended, you know, our forces in there.

01:58And now here, that's part of my concern right now.

02:00And I, if looking for help, honestly, and that's one of the reasons why I voted for you,

02:05because we want to try and find a way because not all immigration is just about securing our border.

02:09We know, but it's about helping people that deserve to come to our nation after serving in such an amazing,

02:15great risk or that is now.

02:17So there was the president's executive order suspending refugee resettlement now.

02:22But again, they kind of got caught up in the middle of that.

02:25And I'm honestly, I'm not here looking for the theater.

02:28I'm just here to come because I think I believe they deserve to be here for the sacrifices and what they put at risk.

02:35And I'm asking if we're able to get some kind of working with my office, you know, please,

02:40to find a way to bring these Afghani heroes that saved American lives during that war,

02:46because things may got caught up in these executive orders.

02:50So that's really all I'm asking today.

02:53Yes, Senator, we will certainly work with your office on those specific cases.

02:57We have 8,000 individuals that have been granted asylum since President Trump has been in office,

03:03looking at cases much like you have.

03:05And these individuals that are here that may have been on a different program like TPS

03:10that is no longer going to be in place in a couple of months,

03:13we have the opportunity to work with them to get them qualified.

03:16Many of the concerns with some of these countries when you're talking about, you know,

03:21interacting with them and giving them status and green cards here in the United States is the ability to vet them.

03:26And it sounds like the individuals that you know have been thoroughly vetted and in partnership with the United States.

03:31And so that is something that we'll look at and we'll certainly work with you on recognizing their service to our country.

03:38Yeah, I would be profoundly grateful if my office can work with your team and perhaps even with state as well, too.

03:47So that's all this is about, too. You know, it's a it's a political truth that we have to find a way to work together

03:52because there are truth and it is not owned by one side or the other.

03:56So I look forward to finding a solution here.

04:00OK, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Senator.

04:04Senator Moreno. Secretary Noem, thank you for being here.

04:08Thank you for your work.

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