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With thousands of Afghan refugees expected to arrive in the United States, the State Department must facilitate their resettlement across the country, as some critics raise concerns about homeland security and the rapid screening process.
An undisclosed number of Afghan refugees arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on Saturday and were transported to the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College. Its Ernst center was to be used to house at least 200 refugees, and the Fairfax County Emergency Management Office gathered 500 camp beds, along with food, water and other supplies.
But the State Department then took the refugees back by bus to the airport for temporary accommodation at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia. A Pentagon spokesperson said the exhibit center would serve as a “temporary stopover” until the refugees, many of whom are children, can be transported to Fort Bliss, Texas, or Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, reported WRC-TV.
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These facilities are working to boost the reception capacity of around 22,000 Afghans in total in the coming days and weeks and it is possible that other facilities will also receive them, the Pentagon press secretary said on Friday. , John F. Kirby. Fort Lee, located in Prince George County, Virginia, has also treated Afghan refugees in recent weeks.
Three flights containing refugees landed at Washington Dulles International Airport within 24 hours, Major General Hank Taylor, Joint Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Regional Operations, J-35, said on Saturday, informing again Pentagon reporters.
“I would add that intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals perform security checks and checks for all SIVs. [special immigrant visa] and others, vulnerable Afghans, before they are allowed to enter the United States, ”he said. “These agencies are increasing the resources to assess all these evacuees in order to ensure the protection of the homeland.
While Afghan refugees will be treated in their home state at Fort Bliss, Texas Republicans Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz both stressed the United States’ obligation to remove those who helped out of Afghanistan. US forces as quickly as possible to save them from Taliban persecution.
Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, sit on a bus after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. On Saturday, August 21, 2021 (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana)
(AP Photo / José Luis Magana)
Fort Bliss is already home to thousands of undocumented minors from the US-Mexico border, and Cruz stressed that he also plans to hold the Biden administration responsible for verifying Afghans who also come to the facility for the sake of ” protect our citizens “.
In Wisconsin, U.S. Republican Representative Tom Tiffany has unleashed criticism of the White House because Afghan refugees are expected to arrive at Fort McCoy, which is in his home state but outside his district of Congress. He said the Biden administration has “declined to say how many people will be coming, what screening will be done before they arrive, or what will happen after they land here.”
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“Alarmingly, the White House has also declined to say whether these people will be held during screening, or whether we will see the same type of capture and release policy that we have seen on our southern border,” Tiffany said in A declaration. “To add insult to injury, President Biden did not bother to seek approval from the leaders of Wisconsin or the local communities that will be affected by this haphazard plan.”
The congressman said the Department of Homeland Security has asked for “volunteers” to review and adjudicate visa applications after Afghans arrive on US soil, as agencies like customs and border protection are already overwhelmed by the crisis on the southern border.
“To be clear, I voted for legislation to expand, improve, and speed up visa processing for Afghans who participated in the US war effort earlier this year – something most Americans support.” , Tiffany said. “The White House should abandon this dangerous and ready-to-fire plan and mitigate the risk by transporting Afghans to safe third countries for verification before bringing thousands of strangers to Wisconsin or other US states.
“Our national security has been deeply degraded in the months following January 20 and allowing the massive entry of foreigners from a known hotbed of terrorism will only worsen the situation,” he said. added.
Since the end of July, the US military has relocated around 22,000 people. Since August 14, around 17,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan, Taylor said on Saturday.
Six US military C-17s and 32 charters had left Kabul within 24 hours on Saturday, Taylor said. The total number of passengers for these flights was around 3,800. Two days earlier, the US military had airlifted nearly 6,000 evacuees, including several hundred Americans, in a single day.
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On Sunday, the Department of Defense activated a civilian fleet to assist with the evacuation of U.S. citizens and personnel, special immigrant visa applicants and others at risk, including women and children, to d ‘Afghanistan. This includes 18 planes – three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines. Commercial planes will not fly to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and “will be used for the subsequent movement of passengers from temporary shelters and temporary transit bases.”
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