Just as COVID restrictions are being reinstated across the country due to concerns of the delta variant, the Biden administration is welcoming foreigners in with open arms. Multiple reports have arisen from the southern border proving that illegal immigrants who are positive for COVID-19 are being released around the country. As of Monday, the Biden administration also announced it will potentially allow thousands of Afghans to resettle in the U.S.
President Biden has been pulling U.S. troops from Afghanistan, raising concern that a lack of presence has emboldened the Taliban’s resurgence. USA Today reports the terror group has captured a significant amount of new territory in the past few weeks and has seized strategic border crossings with neighboring countries.
The result has been “a 47% increase in the number of civilians killed and wounded in violence across Afghanistan in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year, according to the United Nations.” President Biden has pledged to have all American troops out of Afghanistan by August 31, ahead of the initial September 11 deadline. The Pentagon has said the U.S. withdrawal is over 90% completed.
Just last Friday, over 200 Afghans were brought to Fort Lee, Virginia to relocate in the U.S. They were part of an evacuation program Biden announced earlier this summer for Afghans who had served alongside U.S. troops as translators and in other jobs. The Afghans “had applied to come to the U.S. through the special visa program and were near the end of the vetting process” according to USA Today.
“Some 2,500 Afghans – roughly 700 visa applicants and members of their immediate families – are expected to be relocated in the coming weeks through that program” reports USA Today. “It’s not clear how many Afghans will be included in the new refugee designation, but the State Department said it will expand resettlement opportunities ‘to many thousands of Afghans and their immediate family members who may be at risk due to affiliation with US organizations.”
