Major national security vulnerability exposed as DHS reveals how relatives of terror architect allowed into US

On March 30, USCIS issued an alert that, through an ongoing comprehensive review of pending workloads and benefit applications, it had "ascertained that prior screening and vetting measures were wholly inadequate."

The agency said that "many applicants for naturalization and lawful permanent residence were not sufficiently vetted." As a result, USCIS said applications were approved and individuals were naturalized who "should not have been."

"These gaps," said USCIS, "expose the United States to significant national security and public safety risks and compromise the integrity of the immigration system."

In light of these risks, USCIS announced that the agency was issuing a hold and review of all pending asylum applications and benefit applications filed by aliens from high-risk countries. USCIS said the hold and review was in accordance with several executive orders and presidential proclamations by Trump mandating stricter screening and vetting.

Soleimani, the late head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a drone strike ordered by Trump in 2020.

Acting Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital that both entered the U.S. in 2015. Soleimani Afshar entered on a tourist visa in June, while her daughter, Hosseiny, entered in July on a student visa. Both were granted asylum status by a judge in 2019.

Bis said that Soleimani Afshar became a green card holder under the Biden administration in 2021, giving her permanent lawful status. Two years later, in 2023, Hosseiny also got her green card, gaining permanent lawful status.

Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, explained that under current law, the bar for asylum claims in the U.S. is "pathetically low."

"Some immigration judges apply the standards properly; others are incredibly lax, for altruistic or ideological reasons," he told Fox News Digital.

He said the Soleimani relatives most likely "made a case that they were being persecuted by the Iranian regime."

"This wouldn't be impossible - there are relatives of dictators and bad guys who do oppose their own families. But it appears these women didn't - they supported the regime, its proxies, and policy. They reportedly returned for visits."

"Children of regime apparatchiks from China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and every other country with a communist, dictatorial, repressive regime come here to college, buy houses, get jobs, and stay," he said, adding, "Some are running away from their home regime and could have legitimate claims to asylum. Most are here spending their parents' money. Scumbags from all over the world rail against the West but they want the New York, Miami, and London lifestyle for their families to enjoy with the money they loot from their own people."

USCIS, which is a component of DHS, said that in light of its discoveries, it is developing a "layered vetting plan." The agency said this plan will incorporate classified and unclassified information, as well as expanded criminal history checks, identity verification, and ad hoc security checks with the purpose of closing security gaps.

The agency also said it has compiled information on each country listed in the travel ban proclamations and is working with the State Department to identify risk factors, including indicators of fraud, public safety, or national security risks.

Bis emphasized that "it is a privilege to be granted a green card to live in the United States of America."

She added that "if we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked."