Foreign Affairs

Hundreds Of US Officials Reportedly Volunteered To Travel Abroad To Process Afghan Refugees

No featured image available

More than 500 U.S. officials have reportedly volunteered to travel abroad to process Afghan refugees, according to two CBS News reporters.

As of Monday, over 500 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees reportedly were willing to assist with processing Afghan allies who are hoping to relocate to the U.S., according to a memo from the agency’s Director Ur Jaddou, CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez reported.

Employees who volunteered are expected to receive instructions this week, he said, adding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched an agency-wide campaign to recruit volunteers willing to travel abroad to process at-risk Afghan individuals.

The volunteers are expected to “manage processing lines, collect personal data, and provide logistics support,” Montoya-Galvez quoted an internal email.

As of this weekend, more than 500 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees had volunteered to help process at-risk Afghan allies being relocated to the U.S., per an internal email by agency director Ur Jaddou.

Volunteers will receive instructions this week.

— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) August 23, 2021

Several other DHS agencies including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Transportation Security Administration officials were reportedly deployed to countries including Kuwait, Qatar and Germany to help process and screen Afghan allies seeking refuge in the U.S., according to CBS News’ Nicole Sganga.

The U.S. military was expected to take more than 30,000 Afghan allies facing retribution from Taliban insurgents to military bases in Kuwait and Qatar, The Wall Street Journal reported on July 23. The Biden administration expanded a program aimed at helping Afghans leave the country as violent acts committed by Taliban fighters increased, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

Thousands of Afghans have gathered at the airport in Kabul, where some were recorded trying to hold on to the exteriors of departing U.S. planes before falling after the landing gear was retracted, the DCNF reported.

Around 6,000 U.S. troops were stationed at the airport as American citizens and Afghan allies who worked with U.S. operations were evacuated, the Daily Caller reported. At least two armed militants were fatally shot by U.S. officials after the U.S. Central Command warned the Taliban against disrupting evacuations.

The DHS did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.