“Welcome home”: Evacuation flight brings 200 Afghans to U.S.

WASHINGTON — The archetypal formation evacuating Afghans who worked alongside Americans successful Afghanistan brought much than 200 people, including scores of children and babies successful arms, to resettlement successful the United States connected Friday, and President Joe Biden said helium was arrogant to invited them home.

The evacuation flights, bringing retired erstwhile interpreters and others who fearfulness retaliation from Afghanistan’s Taliban for having worked with American servicemembers and civilians, item American uncertainty astir however Afghanistan’s authorities and subject volition fare aft the past U.S. combat forces permission that state successful the coming weeks.

Family members are accompanying the interpreters, translators and others connected the flights out.

The commercialized airliner carrying the 221 Afghans successful the peculiar visa program, including 57 children and 15 babies, according to an interior U.S. authorities papers obtained by The Associated Press, touched down successful Dulles, Virginia, conscionable extracurricular Washington, D.C., according to the FlightAware tracking service.

Biden called the formation “an important milestone arsenic we proceed to fulfill our committedness to the thousands of Afghan nationals who served shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops and diplomats implicit the past 20 years successful Afghanistan.” He said helium wanted to grant the subject veterans, diplomats and others successful the U.S. who person advocated for the Afghans.

“Most of all,” Biden said successful a statement, “I privation to convey these brave Afghans for lasting with the United States, and today, I americium arrogant to accidental to them: ‘Welcome home.’”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin lauded the Afghans for their enactment alongside Americans and said their accomplishment demonstrates the U.S. government’s committedness to them.

The Biden medication calls the effort Operation Allies Refuge. The cognition has wide backing from Republican and Democratic lawmakers and from veterans groups. Supporters mention repeated instances of Taliban forces targeting Afghans who worked with Americans oregon with the Afghan government.

Congress connected Thursday overwhelmingly approved authorities that would let an further 8,000 visas and $500 cardinal successful backing for the Afghan visa program.

Biden announced earlier this twelvemonth the U.S. would retreat each its troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, honoring a withdrawal statement struck by erstwhile President Donald Trump. He aboriginal said the U.S. subject cognition would extremity connected Aug. 31, calling it “overdue.” Some medication officials person expressed astonishment astatine the grade and velocity of Taliban gains of territory successful the countryside since then.

Biden said that though U.S. troops are leaving Afghanistan, the U.S. volition support supporting Afghanistan done information assistance to Afghan forces and humanitarian and improvement assistance to the Afghan people.

The recently arrived Afghan radical volition articulation 70,000 others who person resettled successful the United States since 2008 nether the peculiar visa program.

Subsequent flights are owed to bring much of the astir 700 applicants who are farthest on successful the process of getting visas, having already won support and cleared information screening.

The archetypal arrivals were screened for the coronavirus and received vaccines if they wanted them, said Tracey Jacobson, the U.S. diplomat moving the effort. They were expected to enactment astatine Fort Lee, Virginia, for astir 7 days, completing aesculapian exams and different last steps, Jacobson said. Resettlement organizations volition assistance them arsenic they question to communities astir the United States, with immoderate bound for household members already here, she said.