U.S. Veterans Step Up with Program to Help Private Groups Sponsor Afghan Refugees
A group of U.S. military veterans are stepping up in a big way to set up a program to help private citizens reach out to sponsor Afghan refugees that have been brought to America.
Biden brought thousands of Afghans to the U.S. with no plans on where to put them. Currently, thousands of them are in military bases waiting to find someplace to go. Despite the failures of the Biden administration, private groups and companies have been trying to help clothe and feed the 55,600 people since day one.
But Biden is failing miserably to take care of these people. And there are hundreds if not thousands more who are stuck in the Taliban’s terrorist wonderland.
However, the administration is making one move that might help settle these people, but it is turning to private groups to do so.
Now, to increase options to evacuees, the Biden administration is launching a program that would allow veterans with ties to Afghans, as well as others, the opportunity to bring them to their cities and serve as a support network as they get their lives started in the US, former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell told CNN.
“This is just an amazing opportunity to, frankly, do what our veterans have been asking us to do, which is provide a safe and dignified welcome to Afghans who served by our side in Afghanistan, and who now want to build their own lives here,” said Markell, a Democrat and the temporary point person overseeing the Afghan evacuee resettlement effort for the administration.
Veterans, who have worked closely with Afghans who fled Afghanistan fearing reprisals from the Taliban for their work with the US, underscored the significance of pairing evacuees with people with shared lived experiences.
“We’ve been there. We understand what it’s like to come from that experience and then find yourself dropped into this environment and how quite frankly overwhelming that it can be,” said Matt Zeller, a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project, who added he’s willing to open up his home to Afghans and their families.
“The make-or-break factor between endemic poverty and making it in America is whether or not you have a veteran assisting you. And the earlier that occurs in the process, the more successful,” Zeller, who served in Afghanistan, added.
Up to five Americans over the age of 18 can apply as a sponsor circle to host the refugees. They will be subjected to background checks, must commit to fundraising to support the refugees for at least 90 days, and develop other plans for families. Then they will be required to secure housing. They can house Afghans in their own homes, but the government says that they want that to be a temporary fix.
Groups will also be responsible for raising money to get refugees set up in their community. Usually, the federal government provides a one-time payment of $2,275 for each Afghan an agency serves, of which $1,225 is available for agencies to use for direct assistance like housing and basic necessities, including furniture and silverware. The other bulk of the money is used to cover administrative costs. Afghans will still be eligible for federal benefits. The sponsor circles will have to raise that same amount — $2,275 — privately.
It takes good Americans, not Biden’s failed government, to fix this.
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