JD Vance shuts down CBS journalist’s claim Biden admin ‘properly vetted’ refugees

On immigration, Vance challenged Brennan’s statement that immigrants entering the United States are “properly vetted,” specifically referring to Afghan refugees who will no longer be allowed to enter the US as refugees.

“I don’t agree that all these refugees have been properly vetted. In fact, we know that there are cases of people who allegedly were properly vetted and then were literally planning terrorist attacks on our country. That happened during the campaign, if you may remember. So clearly, not all of these foreign nationals have been properly vetted," Vance said.

“There are 30,000 people in the pipeline. Afghan refugees…” Brennan said before Vance interjected. “My main concern as the Vice President is to look after the American people. Now that we know we have vetting problems with a lot of these refugee programs, we absolutely cannot unleash thousands of unvetted people.”

“These people are vetted," she responded.

“Just like the guy who planned a terrorist attack in Oklahoma a few months ago?" Vance said, referring to Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, who was arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack. "He was allegedly properly vetted, and a lot of people in the media and the Democratic Party said he was properly vetted. Clearly, he wasn’t. I don’t want my children to share a neighborhood with people who are not properly vetted, and because I don’t want it for my kids, I’m not going to force any other American citizens’ kids to do that either.”

“That was a very particular case. It wasn’t clear if he was radicalized when he got here or while he was living here.”

“I don’t really care, Margaret. I don’t want that person in my country, and I think most Americans agree with me.”

Vance defended his decision to push through Trump’s nominee Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, argued against FEMA, and, most staunchly, supported illegal immigrant arrests.

In the first week of the new Trump presidency, a wave of immigration officers swooped in to carry out what the administration calls efforts to “weed out illegal immigrant criminals.” Trump recently reversed a Biden-era policy that prohibited immigration agents from arresting immigrants near schools and places of worship.

Vance defended this, saying he hoped it would have a “chilling effect… on illegal immigrants coming into our country.” Following condemnation from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Vance said he was “heartbroken” by the comments as a practicing Catholic and shot back: "I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"