The Department of Defense (DOD) is reportedly considering housing up to 30,000 Afghan refugees at U.S. Army bases within America. The mass evacuation plan won’t prioritize American citizens living in the Taliban-strong country.
The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants will reportedly be housed at bases like Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bliss in Texas, according to Fox News, which cited documents obtained and reviewed by the network. The documents noted that “the situation in Afghanistan may lead to DoS [Department of State] allowing Afghan SIV applicants to be moved to temporary housing locations while still being vetted for parolee status,” Fox News reported.
The Taliban took over much of Afghanistan in just over a week. The Taliban’s quick advance appeared to have caught the U.S. off guard and President Joe Biden’s administration is scrambling to evacuate the thousands of Afghan SIV applicants, their families and U.S. citizens.
The State Department issued a memorandum to the DOD on Sunday requesting “Assistance for [the] Transpiration and Temporary Housing, Sustainment, and Support for U.S. Citizens, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Applicants, and Other Individuals at Risk,” according to a separate document obtained and reviewed by the Daily Caller. The option of bringing Afghan refugees to the U.S. appears to have followed this request from the State Department.
“The situation in Afghanistan may lead to DoS [Department of State] allowing Afghan SIV applicants to be moved to temporary housing locations while still being vetted for parolee status,” the document reads.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 16, 2021
“The rapid resurgence of the Taliban in parts of Afghanistan in recent weeks has put Afghan nationals who have supported the United States in Afghanistan and their families, as well as embassy personnel, U.S. citizens, and other individuals, at risk,” this document noted.
“The Department of State requests that DoD provide transportation for a range of individuals at risk, as described below, including Afghan SIV principal applicants and their eligible family members and other Afghans at risk, to third countries and/or the United States due to the deteriorating security environment and limited or no commercial or contract transpiration options from Kabul and no viable land routes to neighboring countries,” the memorandum continued.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby appeared to confirm the plan to Fox News, telling the network that officials “want to have the capacity to get up to several thousand immediately, and want to be prepared for the potential of tens of thousands.” Previously, Biden said the U.S. government wasn’t able to evacuate Afghan translators to the U.S. as they awaited their visa, Fox News noted.
… not just American citizens, but perhaps some Afghan SIV applicants as well. We’re going to focus on getting people out of the country, then sorting it out at the next stop. It’s not going to be just Americans first, then SIV applicants," Kirby tells me.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 16, 2021