The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched a new coalition on Wednesday in an effort to get Afghan refugees places to work when they arrive in the United States.
As reported by The Hill, “The Coalition for Afghan Refugee Employment, which includes major employers such as Amazon, Walmart and UPS, aims to provide employment opportunities to tens of thousands over the next six months.”
Carolyn Cawley, president of the Chamber of Commerce Foundation, said in a statement, “Through this effort, we’re proud to bring American businesses together to fill a critical need — supporting the resilience and financial independence of Afghan refugees who are starting a new life in the U.S.”
The recently-created business coalition “is joining Welcome.US, a campaign to help about 65,000 Afghan refugees resettle in the U.S. that is backed by former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton,” per The Hill.
“We know that our new Afghan neighbors will contribute immeasurably to the country, including in the workforce,” said Cecilia Muñoz and John Bridgeland, the co-chairs of Welcome.US.
The Biden administration has been heavily criticized for its disastrous handling of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
As The Daily Wire reported, “The U.S. working with allied countries and private organizations oversaw the evacuation of more than 120,000 people out of Afghanistan in August. The vast majority of those were Afghans fleeing the Taliban, and roughly 65,000 of those Afghans were taken in by the U.S. and transported to U.S. military bases around the world, including in the United States.”
“Last week, the White House asked Congress to allocate $6.4 billion to help Afghan refugees resettle in the U.S., according to the New York Post. Part of the funds would go toward providing welfare benefits and legal identification to each migrant processed and paroled into the United States between July 30 and September 30 this year.”
The Biden administration’s disastrous policy led to the rushed evacuation of allies and Americans, while many citizens in the U.S. attempted to take matters into their own hands to help get people out of the country.
Earlier this week, The Daily Wire reported that the “Biden administration’s State Department went silent for a week as a Congressional office struggled to get their help evacuating Americans from Afghanistan, according to an exclusive report from the Daily Caller.”
“Rep. Darrell Issa’s office told the Daily Caller that despite repeated requests, it took a herculean effort to get a response from the very organization charged with expediting evacuations from Afghanistan, even though the Biden administration has repeatedly said they are working with the Taliban to secure the release of Americans, coalition allies, and Afghans with special immigrant visas (SIVs).”
“Issa’s office also provided the Daily Caller with a record of their email exchange with the Department of State, noting that it took from August 30th until well into September to receive a response to requests for help,” The Daily Wire noted.
“The State Department should have been in the lead rescuing Americans from the Afghanistan crisis it helped to create,” Issa told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Instead, like the President, it has been a bystander, except for its unambiguous message to stranded citizens that they are on their own.”
There are still many Americans and Afghan allies who are trying to get out of Afghanistan.
On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that “as of the end of last week, we had about 100 American citizens in Afghanistan who told us that they wish to leave the country.”
Blinken pressed that the amount portrayed “a snapshot,” adding, “This is a picture that will continue to change over time.”
Regarding the amount of U.S. green card holders who are still in Afghanistan, Blinken said that this was “something that we don’t track directly,” but around “several thousand” U.S. green card holders are still in Afghanistan.