Axios
President Biden's advisers are crafting a plan to accelerate bringing potentially thousands of Afghans to the U.S. from Qatar, according to a source with direct knowledge of the administration's internal deliberations on the subject.
Why it matters: As U.S. military leaders plan for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the administration is still struggling to handle the aftereffects of its chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal. One challenge: how to care for tens of thousands of displaced Afghans — many of whom helped the U.S. fight its longest war.
- The president's senior national security and foreign policy officials are discussing an expedited refugee process.
- It would allow Afghans to be screened, vetted, approved for refugee status and placed on planes to the United States within 30 days of their arrival at the military site in Qatar being used to house them.
- It usually takes two to five years for refugee applicants to be resettled in the U.S.
