Afghan Evacuees have started leaving US Military Facilities to start New Lives in America

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The United States has started discharging thousands of Afghan evacuees from military facilities and placing them in communities across the country. The recent move is part of the new phase of a massive and nationwide resettlement effort. At least 6,000 Afghan evacuees have left temporary housing sites at US military installations in recent weeks to start new lives in America with the help of nonprofit refugee resettlement agencies. Another 3,000 US citizens, green card holders, and Afghans with close ties in America have left the facilities on their own. Around 4,000 Afghan evacuees were resettled in the US communities during the past week. At least 55,000 Afghans (half of them children) remain at 8 US military sites in Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wisconsin. More than 5,000 evacuees were housed at overseas military bases and waiting to be placed on US-bound flights.

The pace of relocations from the military sites has ramped up in recent days after the US completed a campaign to vaccinate evacuees against COVID-19 and other diseases. The number of arrivals has also increased after the US lifted a 3-week pause on evacuation flights earlier this month. At least 10,000 evacuees have arrived in the US since the flights resumed, bringing the total number of people relocated since mid-August to more than 75,000. More than 89% of the evacuees are Afghans, while the rests are US citizens or green cardholders. The US government relocated thousands of Afghans who were determined to be eligible for Special Immigrant Visas because of their assistance to American military forces. A senior Biden administration official said the government is working to process evacuees as quickly as possible while making case-by-case decisions on which US communities can receive them.

The official said, “It’s not easy to move large groups. Our overall goal is to get the balance right here. We certainly could just move people to a big housing facility somewhere. But we’re really keen to move people to their final resettlement destination and a place that meets the needs of their family”. Resettlement officials said a major hurdle in getting Afghans out of the military bases more expeditiously is the limited housing in US communities. A senior vice president at Church World Service, Erol Kekic said, “The bottom line is that housing is and will remain a major stumbling block, especially in these preferred destinations”. The administration official acknowledged the housing shortage, saying the government is encouraging evacuees to move to states like Oklahoma. The state is set to host the third-largest number of Afghan arrivals during the first resettlement phase.