The database is known as Biometrically Enabled Watchlist (BEWL), and it identifies individuals whose unique physical characteristics have been flagged by analysts to be national security threats. Some 324 Afghan evacuees who appear in the system were freed in the U.S., the DOD whistleblower says. The information has sparked outrage among some members of Congress who assert known suspected terrorists were let into the U.S. last year "after the administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan."

At least two U.S. Senators are demanding and immediate investigation by the DOD Inspector General. In a letter to the Pentagon watchdog, the lawmakers, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, write that the whistleblower's information may show the Biden administration's failure to vet those evacuated from Afghanistan was even worse than the public was led to believe. The whistleblower also alleges that political appointees at the National Security Council (NSC) and DOD instructed agency personnel to cut corners when processing evacuees in Afghanistan and at staging bases in Europe, the lawmakers write. Rather than administer fingerprint tests on all ten fingers, personnel were told to abbreviate tests to promote the rushed evacuation from Afghanistan. "Finally, it is alleged that personnel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who work on vetting Afghan evacuees have been authorized to delete old biometric data, whenever they personally believed that such information is out of date," the senators write. "This is a troubling development that could threaten national security and public safety."