White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said the Pentagon has confirmed to her the Department of Defense is preparing to house thousands of Afghan refugees on American military installations, immediately including Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bliss in Texas.
She also reported documents obtained show the Department of Defense planning to potentially relocate up to 30,000 Afghan SIV applicants into the U.S. in the immediate future.
The document states the situation in Afghanistan may lead to the State Department allowing Afghan SIV applicants to be moved to temporary housing locations while still being vetted for parolee status.
Heinrich said that President Joe Biden told her on July 8 the U.S. government could not evacuate Afghan translators to the U.S. to awaite visa processing like some migrants at the southern border.
“The law doesn’t allow that to happen,” Heinrich quoted Biden as saying. “And that’s why we’re asking Congress to consider changing the law.”
American citizens will not be given priority evacuation over Afghan SIV applicants, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
