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.