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NOTNew Mexican officials said on Tuesday they were awaiting more information from the federal government on how many Afghan refugees are expected to arrive in the state, and when and where they will settle.
The news comes after thousands of Afghans have crowded into U.S. military planes in recent days, leaving Kabul, Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban. Afghans have started arriving in the United States, where they are routed to military bases across the country – including at least one in New Mexico.
US planes evacuated around 10,400 people from Kabul between Sunday and Monday, the US State Department said. According to the agency’s press briefing on Monday, the country has evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of nearly 42,000 people from Afghanistan since the end of July.
The State Department said the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso is one of four military installations that have started receiving some of the 1,200 Afghans who have arrived in the United States in recent days. The refugees are being housed in the base’s Doña Ana Range complex, which straddles New Mexico’s Doña Ana and Otero counties, according to multiple reports. The base did not respond to messages seeking comment on Tuesday.
ABC News reported Tuesday night that an “internal government report” indicated that refugees arriving at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, could be transported to Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and State House Speaker Brian Egolf wrote to President Joe Biden last week saying the state was ready to help resettle displaced Afghans. But Lujan Grisham’s office was unable to provide details this week on how many people are likely to enter the state.
U.S. Representative Yvette Herrell, a Republican from New Mexico, criticized the governor’s invitation.
“Our government should focus on getting all Americans out of Afghanistan,” she wrote Tuesday in an email provided by her spokesperson.
“Governor Lujan Grisham, not content with opening our southern border to illegal immigration and criminal cartels, asked Joe Biden to send thousands of foreign nationals to New Mexico without the consent or consultation of our families , communities and local governments, ”she said. added.
“While we should honor our promises to help those who have worked with our armed forces in Afghanistan, move directly to relocating countless unchecked Afghan nationals to New Mexico as thousands of Americans remain trapped behind the lines of the Taliban is disgraceful and irresponsible, ”Herrell’s statement continued. .
Its communications director, Billy Gribbin, wrote in an email that Herrell “is focused on the safe return of all Americans trapped in Afghanistan. Its staff connected New Mexican voters and their family members in Afghanistan with the State Department to coordinate their safe return, and worked with the GOP caucus to ensure information is shared. with private entities equipped to assist with evacuation efforts. Representative Herrell’s office also assisted non-citizens in fleeing Afghanistan. All new Mexicans who require assistance should contact the Herrell representative’s office as soon as possible.
United States Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury also urged New Mexicans who need help evacuating family members from Afghanistan to contact her.
However, his office was unable to provide details regarding the number of incoming refugees.
“I think the problem is that federal agencies are not yet making these figures public due to an ever-changing situation,” Stansbury communications director Julia Friedmann wrote in an email Tuesday. “I’m sure we can get a better idea of what’s going on as the situation evolves. The goal right now is to make sure that we can evacuate as many people as possible – Americans and Afghan allies, and so that’s where most of the resources and personnel are. “
Jeff Hall, director of economic development programs for Lutheran Family Services, said the organization – the main provider of refugee resettlement services in New Mexico – is ready to help anyone who arrives by providing assistance with skills language, housing and employment.
But, he said, Lutheran has so far not received any specific information on the number of refugees who may be transported to New Mexico. He only heard that planes were dropping off evacuees at Fort Bliss.
“Beyond that, nothing,” he said. “It’s still a developing situation. We receive updates day by day, if not on time.
New Mexico hosted 17 refugees between October and July, according to the Refugee Processing Center run by the State Department. Of these, six were from Afghanistan – one in February and five in July – and 11 were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
New Mexico hosted 27 refugees between October 2019 and September 2020, according to the treatment center, two from the Central African Republic and 25 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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