Last Afghan refugees leave temporary accommodation at Marine Corps Base Quantico
Tori J. Ross
1 min read
The last Afghan refugees who were temporarily housed at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia have left, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday.
The base is the second of eight facilities intended to temporarily house refugees who have completed their operations.
Overall, more than 49,000 evacuees have been resettled across the country thanks to the efforts of the State Department.
“With operations now complete at Marine Corps Base Quantico, I would like to thank all federal personnel, military personnel and volunteers who have enabled more than 49,000 Afghan evacuees to begin to rebuild their lives in America,” Robert Fenton, the senior official response for Operation Allies Welcome, said in a statement.
“We are grateful for the support the local community has shown to our Afghan allies and the personnel working with them throughout this historic effort,” he continued.
The United States formally withdrew from Afghanistan on August 31 and evacuated more than 124,000 people in the process, the vast majority of whom were Afghan refugees.
The Pentagon has created accommodation sites for refugees and special immigrant visa holders while they wait to be resettled or while their applications are being processed.
In mid-November, the last group of Afghan refugees housed in Fort Lee, Va., Was resettled.
The Pentagon continues to provide temporary housing for the remaining 25,000 Afghans at six bases: Camp Atterbury, Indiana; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ; Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Pickett, Virginia; and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
