Biden Administration ‘Ramping Up’ Evacuation Efforts

On Wednesday, President Biden said he was willing to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan until all American citizens who wanted to leave are out of the country. Biden said Americans should expect all U.S. citizens to be evacuated by August 31st which is the deadline the administration set for ending the nation’s longest war. According to the President, the U.S. estimates between 50,000 to 65,000 Afghan partners and their families are trying to get out of the country. He continued, adding, in order to get them all out before the deadline, evacuations will have to ‘ramp up.’

Recently, the administration has been working overtime to pull lists of names of special immigrant visa applications to push them through the system and get security checks cleared. According to the state department, weekly visa issuance increased significantly from March to early August. The special immigrant visa program was established in 2009 for Afghan citizens and their families who work for the U.S. government in Afghanistan and face threats for their allegiance to the U.S.