Why are Afghan Refugees Being Resettled in Texas?
Jose Nino
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According to a report by Mike Glenn at the Washington Times, Afghan refugees have recently started to arrive in Texas at Fort Bliss close to El Paso. This is one of three Department of Defense locations where Afghan refugees will stay until their immigration processing is complete.
According to a confirmation from several officials with U.S. Army North on August 22, 2021, “a number of Afghans at risk” came to Fort Bliss on August 21. They were subsequently moved to the Dona Ana Range Complex in New Mexico. At this new location, the migrants will receive temporary housing.
Other Afghan refugees were sent to Fort Lee close to Richmond, Virginia and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
Currently, the US is flying Afghan nationals from Kabul to several locations around the world. According to a statement Pentagon officials made on August 22, migrants evacuated to these facilities in the US are currently going through the State Department-run Special Immigrant Visa program.
The Army is helping with efforts to provide temporary housing for the Afghans on U.S. bases. “The 1st Armored Division team is providing the Afghans at Fort Bliss essential support, such as lodging,” Army Colonel Martin O’Donnell, with U.S. Army North, told The Washington Times on August 22. “As you can imagine, there is much activity associated with the arrival.”
Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn said to the El Paso Times newspaper that up to 10,000 Afghan refugees could be sent to Fort Bliss.
O’Donnell said on August 22 that Afghans arriving stateside will stay at military locations “temporarily until the State Department processes their visa applications.”
This is a rather surprising development when considering that under Greg Abbott’s leadership the Texas state government had previously rejected refugee resettlement. Populist Republicans within the Texas state legislature should stand up against this resettlement of Afghans within the Lone Star State.
Instead, they should proactively suggest the alternative of resettling Afghan migrants in the countries of strategic partners — Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates — that have more compatible cultural and religious values.
Republicans should not fall for the mass migration hysteria that Open Borders Inc. is currently pushing and reject refugee resettlement.
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