Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ) has brought to light a damning report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This report, filed on June 25, 2024, reveals that between 7 to 9 million visa holders in the United States have not undergone proper vetting procedures, raising grave concerns about national security and public safety.

The report, "Management Alert: CBP Has Limited Information to Assess Interview-Waived Non-Immigrant Visa Holders," details how the customary vetting process for foreign nationals seeking entry into the U.S. has been largely disregarded under the current administration.

Traditionally, applicants must complete an in-person interview at a U.S. consulate or embassy in their home country, undergo fingerprinting, and pass local background checks.

These measures are designed to identify potential criminals or terrorists before they set foot on American soil. However, it appears that these critical safeguards have been waived, leaving millions of individuals unvetted and potentially dangerous.

Congressman Crane said in a video statement, "We talk about the gotaways. We talk about individuals on the terror watchlist. We talk about MS-13 gang members coming through that Southern border. But this is a whole new bag of awful. Typically, the way this is supposed to work is if you're a foreigner and you want to come to the United States of America and you want to get a visa to do so, you've got to go to the consulate or the embassy in the nation that you're from and apply."

According to the DHS Inspector General's report:

"According to Dos, from calendar years 2020 through 2023, it granted nonimmigrant visas to approximately 7.1 million individuals without conducting in-person consular interviews. Dos also did not collect fingerprints for an unknown number of visas during the same period. In December 2023, Dos and OHS agreed to expand the categories of visas and applicants whose consular interviews could be waived beginning on January 1, 2024.