23,876 ‘at risk’ Afghans have already arrived in the United States, State Department says

WASHINGTON — More than 23,000 Afghan refugees deemed to be “at risk” have arrived in the United States, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday, a number that represents more than one-sixth of all the evacuees airlifted out of Kabul in the past two months.

Price told reporters that 4,446 American citizens have also arrived in the country as part of the airlift, along with 2,785 legal permanent residents. The total number of people who have entered the United States after leaving Afghanistan through Aug. 31 is 31,107.

Price said these numbers were likely to rise as more people, both Afghans and Americans, are processed through customs.

The vast majority of the Afghan refugees are being housed at seven military bases across the country, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told reporters during a Pentagon briefing Wednesday.

About 20,000 more evacuees are currently at seven staging bases across the military’s command region that includes the Middle East, with an additional 23,000 at seven staging bases in Europe, he said.

The new numbers offer a preview of the massive humanitarian and immigration effort that will be required in the coming days and weeks, as the international community tries to find permanent refuge for families who faced imminent danger at the hands of Afghanistan’s new Taliban government.

They also serve as a counterargument to critics of President Joe Biden, who say the White House hasn’t done enough to help vulnerable Afghans.

The U.S. military alone is preparing to house and process a total of 50,000 evacuees, many of whom served alongside American forces during 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

“Some of those brave Afghans will be coming to make new lives with their families in America,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the briefing Wednesday.

Any prospective immigrants to the United States will undergo “careful screening and security vetting,” he added.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/01/23876-at-risk-afghans-have-already-arrived-in-the-united-states.html