Last Afghan Refugees Leave U.S. Military Bases

SILVER SPRING, Md. —On February 19, the last Afghan refugees were moved off the U.S. military bases to be resettled. As part of the largest military evacuation of refugees in history, more than 76,000 Afghans were evacuated to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul in August. Now, with an historic resettlement effort, through its national affiliate network and newly formed Welcome Circles, HIAS has resettled more than 3,700 Afghan refugees and SIVs across the U.S. since August 2021.

HIAS CEO and President Mark Hetfield said: “HIAS and our resettlement network partners have been welcoming Afghan allies since day one of their evacuation, but we still have a lot of work to do, as we need to keep advocating until Congress provides these U.S. allies with a pathway to a green card and family reunification. Ideally, we need an Afghan Adjustment Act or, at a minimum, federally funded legal aid so they can receive assistance applying for asylum.”

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