Biden administration planning to evacuate Afghans who assisted U.S. military

U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2006.
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

As the United States enters the final phase of withdrawing the military from Afghanistan, the Biden administration says it will evacuate Afghans who worked with U.S. troops.

"Those who helped us are not going to be left behind," President Biden told reporters on Thursday. Afghans who worked as interpreters and contractors have shared their concerns that once the U.S. is out of Afghanistan, they might be hurt or killed by the Taliban. There is a special immigration visa program for these Afghans, but it moves slowly — some applicants have been waiting for years — and lawmakers and veterans of the Afghanistan war have voiced their worries over how long the process can take.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.