Report: Defense Department plans to shelter up to 30k refugees on military bases

Garry Reid, the lead for the DOD in supporting the U.S. State Department crisis action group, speaks during a press briefing on the situation in Afghanistan at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Defense announced plans to shelter tens of thousands of Afghan refugees on military bases. According to recent reports, up to 30,000 Afghan individuals who have received Special Immigration Visas would be placed at Fort Bliss and Fort McCoy among other bases in the immediate future.

The individuals will be granted visas under a program, which provides asylum to Afghans who worked for the U.S. during the war effort. The Pentagon temporarily deployed 6,000 U.S. troops to aid in the evacuation of U.S. citizens and Afghan refugees.

Garry Reid: At this point, we are looking to establish 20,000 to 22,000
spaces [for SIV's and their families]. We can expand if we need to. pic.twitter.com/KesMFryM0c

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) August 16, 2021

A Pentagon spokesperson said the U.S. could take in several thousand Afghan refugees immediately, but wanted to be prepared to potentially house tens of thousands.