The Canadian government has taken in over 30,000 Afghan refugees since August 2021, and plans to resettle at least 40,000 more by the end of 2023. In a news release on April 12, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said that communities across Canada continue to welcome Afghans and are “helping them settle in to their…

Months after jumping on a military plane to escape the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Bahara Samimi was rushing to catch trains to early appointments with Melbourne real estate agents. The 23-year-old Afghan women’s national soccer team player and dentistry student was evacuated by the Australian government, landing in Brisbane for processing, then eventually settling in…

WASHINGTON—Military bases that housed tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in the United States incurred almost $260 million in damages that in some cases rendered buildings unusable for troops until significant repairs to walls and plumbing are made, the Pentagon’s inspector general found. Over the last two weeks of August 2021, the U.S. Air Force…

Airbnb announced on Feb. 22 that it will accommodate another 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan and other countries after meeting its previous goal of housing 20,000. In a statement, the San Francisco-headquartered company said it was “proud” to have met its previous goal of providing free housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees and is marking the “important milestone”…

The Liberal government aims to bring in more than 1.3 million new immigrants to Canada over the next three years despite having a backlog of 1.8 million applications waiting to be processed due to pandemic-induced delays. On Feb. 14, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser tabled his three-year immigration levels plan in Parliament, calling for a yearly…

The Australian government will extend temporary humanitarian visas issued to Afghans who support Australian forces in Afghanistan. The decision to provide an extension on an “ongoing basis” applies to visas issued to Locally Engaged Employees (LEE), or certified local workers, and their families from the Department of Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,…

Top U.S. military leaders are going before the Senate today, to face questions about what exactly happened in Afghanistan, and what led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members. Democrat leaders are back to negotiating after losing a Senate vote. They have to find another way to keep the government operating before funding expires….

More than 30 companies including Amazon, Facebook, Pfizer, and Tyson Foods have vowed to create economic opportunities and provide resources for Afghan refugees as they start their new lives in the United States. The 34 companies, which stem from all sectors including tech, retail, and food service industry, have joined the Tent Coalition for Afghan Refugees, which…

Officials in Connecticut say they are expecting to house several hundred Afghanistan refugees in the coming weeks. Gov. Ned Lamont said in a news release the refugees will be “fully vetted” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and have all necessary vaccinations, including for COVID-19. “My administration was informed by the White House that…

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a three-year service plan for Afghan refugees entering the county as concerned residents discuss hesitancy at the Sept. 14 meeting.   Krishna Murphy, an Orange County resident told the board immigrants are “highly valued members of society” but is concerned over who is being allowed in.   “Responding to…