CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) issued the following statement:

“My office is hearing reports from Afghan SIVs on the ground that over the last 12 hours they have been turned away at the gate at the Kabul airport and being told that only valid U.S. passport holders are allowed inside. This obviously does not square with what the Biden administration has been emphasizing all day that Afghan allies remain a priority.

“U.S. Marines are consummate professionals. They follow orders and execute policy directives. They don’t freelance. The State Department is the entity calling the shots.

“We need to immediately know who directed Marines to tell our Afghan allies at the gate that only U.S. passport holders are permitted inside, and whether this reflects a dramatic reversal in policy to not allow more of our Afghan allies into the airport.”

###