The White House is notifying State governments on how many Afghan refugees it expects they will be accommodating following the U.S. pull out from that embattled Middle Eastern country, and that includes Alabama.
The Biden administration began calling on governors and state refugee coordinators across the country about the first group of refugees, which is estimated at around 37,000. Alabama’s contribution to the effort is considered modest at ten refugees. California is shouldering the greatest number of over five thousand. Hawaii, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming and the District of Columbia are not expected to resettle anyone from the first group of evacuees who fled during the final days of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last month. The White House expects to resettle 65,000 Afghans in the United States by the end of this month, and close to onehundred thousand by September of next year.
States with a historically large number of Afghans who resettled in the U.S. over the last 20 years — including California, Maryland, Texas and Virginia — are again welcoming a disproportionate number of evacuees, according to an AP analysis. The Afghan evacuees go through a Department of Homeland Security-coordinated process of security vetting before being admitted. Some of the recent Afghan arrivals could also face a tough road ahead if Congress doesn’t take action to treat them as refugees arriving in the U.S.