Logo
Sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth | Donate

U.S. military resettles thousands of Afghan refugees


U.S. service members open the door of a temporary housing facility for an Afghan refugee woman in Liberty Village on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. Associated Press/Photo by Barbara Davidson

U.S. military resettles thousands of Afghan refugees

Operation Allies Welcome has sent the last group of Afghan nationals temporarily housed at Fort Pickett, Va., to their new communities. It was the sixth of eight Department of Defense installations to complete the resettlement of Afghan refugees. As of Feb. 2, the United States had welcomed more than 76,000 Afghans to the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, with plans to admit more in the coming months, the Department of Homeland Security reported. The last two installations house roughly 7,000 Afghan refugees at Fort McCoy, Wis., and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

How does resettlement work? An evacuation started in August and dispersed roughly 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees worldwide. Before entering the U.S., Afghans go through a biometric and biographic screening process conducted by intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism agencies. Those who pass the screening then get vaccinations before heading to a military base. While there, refugees can apply for work authorization. 

Dig deeper: Read Sophia Lee’s report in WORLD Magazine about how some communities are welcoming Afghan refugees.


Mary Muncy

Mary Muncy is a breaking news reporter for WORLD. She graduated from World Journalism Institute and Patrick Henry College.


An actual newsletter worth subscribing to instead of just a collection of links. —Adam

Sign up to receive The Sift email newsletter each weekday morning for the latest headlines from WORLD’s breaking news team.
COMMENT BELOW

Please wait while we load the latest comments...

Comments