The final remaining Afghan evacuees still sheltered at U.S. military bases have departed to their new communities, the Biden administration announced on Saturday. They join the roughly 75,000 Afghan families who have already been previously resettled as part the historic Operation Allies Rescue mission, “the largest number of new arrivals at one time in over fifty years,” an official said.
“We commend the extraordinary work of the resettlement agencies, and their local affiliates and community partner organizations—more than 350 total—for working tirelessly around the clock to find new homes for Afghan families and help set them up for success throughout the United States,” said Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Senior Bureau Official Nancy Izzo Jackson.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), a leading resettlement agency that helped resettle approximately 11,000 Afghan refugees as part of Operation Allies Rescue, welcomed news that the final 1,200 evacuees still at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey had been moved to their new communities.
“We applaud the herculean effort of our service men and women in uniform who have worked tirelessly to welcome our new Afghan neighbors in this historic mission,” said LIRS President Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. “We are deeply grateful to the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Defense for what has been a whole-of-government response to the urgent needs of our longtime Afghan friends and allies.”
“The work of welcome is a marathon, not a sprint,” O’Mara Vignarajah continued, noting that refugees’ successful resettlement depends on continued support from both local and federal governments, as well as “from local communities, congregations, volunteers, and all those who stand for welcome.” She also continued urging passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a pathway to legal status for tens of thousands of evacuees.
Over half of evacuees were settled in states including California, Florida, Virginia, and Texas. “Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, Oklahoma, Missouri, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kentucky have received 21,331 evacuees, resettling more than 1,000 each,” CBS News reported. “On the other hand, South Dakota, Mississippi, West Virginia and Hawaii have all resettled 22 Afghans combined, while Wyoming is the only state that is not expected to receive evacuees.”
Both South Dakota and Wyoming’s GOP governors had refused to accept any Afghan evacuees (though it’s ultimately up to the federal government). This position was in no way a surprise from South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem in particular, who has made her stance as pro bullying of children part of her official platform.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security said that of the eight U.S. military bases that sheltered Afghan evacuees, New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will continue to remain open as the federal government works to establish a nonmilitary base for future Afghan arrivals.
“The U.S. is also still housing and processing 2,800 Afghans at bases in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the latest DHS figures show,” CBS News continued. The work is not yet done, advocates made clear. The Biden administration “must prioritize the relocation and resettlement of at-risk Afghans still in harm’s way, many of whom are families and children seeking to reunite with their loved ones in the U.S,” O’Mara Vignarajah said.
Among evacuees who have been resettled throughout the U.S. are Ahmad Zaki Babakarkhil and his family, who are living in temporary housing obtained through an AirBnB program for Afghan refugees. He told CBS News that while he and his family have not left their apartment very much, "the children are very happy here.”
"In Afghanistan, the parents were not available for the children,” Ahmad Zaki Babakarkhil told CBS News. “Whenever they go out for a walk or to play in the park, the children say, 'I wished we were here from the start.'" Because this family arrived through humanitarian parole, which does not offer a direct pathway to legal status, they’d directly benefit from legislation like the Afghan Adjustment Act. Click here to act and send Congress a message in support of this important bill today.
RELATED: 'The American dream I am enjoying today': Former interpreter urges permanent relief for Afghans
RELATED: Biden admin announces program allowing private individuals to sponsor Afghan refugees
RELATED: 'Will help facilitate their resettlement': USCIS to waive application fees for Afghan refugees