US Army Base Set to Welcome Afghans Fleeing Taliban

WASHINGTON - The first Afghans to be airlifted out of Afghanistan as the United States completes its withdrawal from the country after nearly two decades of war will initially be housed at an Army base south of Washington. These Afghans "have completed thorough SIV security vetting processes. They will be provided temporary housing and services as they complete the final steps in the Special Immigrant process, we expect to begin the first relocation flights before the end of July," said the spox. https://t.co/DC6u3YnI6r Happening now: @PentagonPresSec confirms @DeptofDefense has suggested using Ft. Lee to house about 2,500 #Afghan #SIV applicants in response to a formal request from @StateDept "Ft. Lee is just an initial location" he says, adding other US locations could be considered

Officials at the State Department and the Pentagon on Monday said as many as 2,500 Afghans will be brought to Fort Lee in Virginia, about 216 kilometers south of the U.S. capital, when flights begin later this month. The group, which includes about 700 interpreters and others who aided U.S. forces, as well as their families, are then expected to spend several days at the base before they are resettled elsewhere in the U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters the Afghans are all from a pool of Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants “who are closest to completing special immigrant processing.”