President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January instructing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to admit refugees to the U.S. on a "case by case basis." (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The guilty plea comes after the Trump administration has moved to crack down on the vetting of refugees. For example, President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and ramping up vetting of refugees "to the maximum degree possible," particularly those "from regions or nations with identified security risks."
One of the orders, known as the Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, instructs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to admit refugees to the U.S. on a "case by case basis" if the alien does not pose a national security threat to the U.S.
Additionally, Vice President JD Vance voiced concerns about the vetting process for refugees in January, and said in an interview with CBS anchor Margaret Brennan that the U.S. shouldn’t "unleash thousands of unvetted people into our country."
Specifically, Vance pointed to an Afghan national arrested in October 2024 on charges of conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of ISIS, according to the Justice Department.
NEW SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO PAUSES REFUGEE OPERATIONS, RAMPS UP VISA VETTING
Vice President JD Vance clashed with CBS' Margaret Brennan on several topics, including the vetting of refugees. (CBS screenshot)
"I don't agree that all these immigrants, or all these refugees have been properly vetted," Vance told Brennan. "In fact, we know that there are cases of people who allegedly were properly vetted and then were literally planning terrorist attacks in our country. That happened during the campaign, if you may remember. So, clearly, not all of these foreign nationals have been properly vetted."
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A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about Alqaysi’s guilty plea.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-iraqi-refugee-living-texas-pleads-guilty-conspiring-support-isis