Roughly 300 refugees from Afghanistan arrived at a processing center in northern Virginia on Tuesday as part of a resettlement process.
They are the first group to arrive at the National Conference Center in Loudoun County, which is expected to hold up to 1,000 refugees each month, according to the Washington Post. The refugees will stay at the conference center until they can move into more permanent housing.
“We will continue to work closely with state and local partners to ensure we can continue to resettle our Afghan allies as quickly, safely, and successfully as possible,” Robert Fenton Jr., a senior response official for Operation Allies Welcome, said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
MORAL COMPASS FEDERATION BEGS BIDEN TO BETTER PROTECT AFGHAN ALLIES
Roughly 84,600 Afghan nationals, U.S. citizens, and lawful permanent residents of the United States were evacuated from Afghanistan as the Taliban retook control of the country last year, the DHS said in a Feb. 19 press release. Around 76,000 Afghan nationals, who had initially been moved to U.S. military bases, were resettled in local communities throughout the nation, the department reported at the time.
Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman claimed on Feb. 17 that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his employees had ignored concerns regarding the plan to resettle refugees from Afghanistan in his county.
“As I have a responsibility for the safety and security of Loudoun’s citizens, I want to ensure that our community is aware of the concerns we have raised and the expectations we have from our partners with the federal government,” Chapman said in a statement. “Currently, those expectations have not been met. We will continue to keep our community informed as this process continues. If the resettlement proceeds, we will work with the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and all stakeholders to ensure that appropriate resources are obtained for the refugees’ successful transition into the United States.”
DHS said in the statement provided to the Washington Examiner that “all Afghan evacuees undergo a multi-layered, rigorous screening and vetting process before arriving in the United States.” The report also said the statement noted the evacuees who arrived at the processing center had been tested and vaccinated for COVID-19 before entering the U.S.
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DHS assistant press secretary Angelo Fernandez told the Washington Examiner that “approximately 300 people” had arrived at the center, adding that the agency was “working with the sheriff’s office to make sure” that everything was “in order” prior to the usage of the processing center.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Chapman for a statement but did not receive a response.
