Department of Defense says it's working to create space on military bases for up to 22,000 Afghans
The Department of Defense is working to create additional Afghan refugee capacity in the U.S. by utilizing military bases in Fort Bliss, Texas, as well as Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, said the Director for Defense Intelligence Garry Reid on Monday.
Reid said there may be other sites identified if needed, but that at this point, U.S. Northern Command and the U.S. Army are looking to establish 20,000 to 22,000 spaces for special immigrant visa applicants and their families. "We can expand if we need to," he noted.
Approximately 2,000 Afghans have already been relocated to Fort Lee, Virginia under the SIV program, where they've been given housing, food, medical, and other services, per the Department of Defense.
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
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