Thousands of Afghan refugees headed to Indiana

EDINBURGH, Ind. (WISH) — The first Afghan refugees can be expected to arrive in Indiana in the coming days, a senior White House official told I-Team 8’s Richard Essex Tuesday.

Some reports say that camp Atterbury has room to house 3-5 000 refugees, but the administration could not confirm that number.

Senior White House officials confirmed that those coming to Camp Atterbury have been helping the United States military, and in many cases, have already started a security screening process. 

“People coming through the refugee program in general — it is actually the hardest way to get into the United States. The level of security screening is incredible. It involved multiple federal agencies, and for many of these Afghans, they are going through it a second time,” said Cole Varga, the executive director of Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc. 

Typically, refugees fleeing to the United States would be processed and screened before coming to the states — and that process can take years. But due to the urgent nature of this situation, much of the processing will be done in the U.S.  

“These evacuation flights have sped up the process in many ways, but all of the processing is still happening … rather than happening overseas, it is happening here. The final couple of boxes that need to be checked are being done state-side at these military bases,” said Varga. 

Once the refugees arrive at Atterbury, they will receive medical and physiological screening. Medical staff will test them for COVID-19 and vaccinate them if they choose so.

All of the refugees will receive a work visa, social security numbers and eventually housing. Those with family already in the United States will be reunited. 

Joseph Overton was in Columbus visiting this afternoon. He is a Vietnam era veteran and has been watching the developments in Afghanistan 

“I think it is a good thing if they were actually helping the troops to survive with their family,” said Overton. 

Once the refugees have passed all the screening, they will be assigned to a resettlement group. The White House says it is too early to predict how many refugees will settle in Indiana.