The Biden administration created a plan for 16,000 Afghan refugees to be housed at a Loudoun county Virginia convention center in resettlement program.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Biden administration informed Loudoun County, Virginia officials that they would be placing 16,000 Afghan refugees in their county this month.
- County Sheriff Michael Chapman made an announcement on Thursday saying that the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service notified him about the short-term living arrangements, according to The Washington Examiner.
- In addition to housing at the convention center, up to 1,000 at a time would be housed at the National Conference Center in the ritzy Lansdowne area east of Leesburg, Virginia.
- The Sheriff said he believed that the plan lacked some necessary details and that his questions were not answered by Biden officials, particularly what security and communication with locals would be.
STATEMENT FROM THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE:
- “On February 4, 2022, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office received an unannounced visit by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service in which it learned that approximately 2,000 Afghan refugees, per month, were slated to arrive at the Washington Dulles International Airport during a window beginning as early as February 19, 2022, and extending to September 2022. . ” the Sheriff’s office said in a statement released to the press.
- “DHS/FPS regional personnel advised the refugees would be transported by bus to the National Conference Center where they would stay until their ultimate relocation elsewhere in the United States,” said the sheriff’s office.
- “He raised concerns about DHS’ lack of communication, lack of planning, language barriers, a failure to communicate with a myriad of potential stakeholders, and the NCC’s unfenced proximity to a residential neighborhood and two public schools,” said the sheriff’s department.
BACKGROUND:
- Tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees who made it to the United States during the recent departure of American forces from the nation of Afghanistan have begun to be resettled around the nation, according to MSN News.
- As of February 2022, estimates about how many Afghans were brought to the United States range from 65,000 to almost 100,000 and have been settled in U.S. communities, and more are waiting at military bases abroad.
- US News and World Report released a review of how many states had housed the most refugees, with California and Texas topping the states who have housed the newly acquired residents.
