MADISON, Wis. — As the crisis abroad in Afghanistan continues, Fort McCoy has been approved by top defense leadership to house refugees.
Fort McCoy had been under consideration since Monday, but official confirmation of its use didn't come until Wednesday.
The Pentagon confirmed to Spectrum News 1 Wednesday afternoon that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has authorized the use of Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, as well as Fort Bliss in Texas, to house Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, their families, and other at-risk individuals from Afghanistan.
Many of the refugees served the U.S. government in some way, usually as translators or interpreters.
“The Department recently approved a request for assistance from the State Department to provide additional temporary housing, sustainment and support inside the United States for a number of up to 22,000,” spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday morning.
Fort Lee will also still be used in the effort, according to Kirby.
Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany has been one of the most outspoken members of Wisconsin's delegation in Washington, D.C.
In a statement, Rep. Tiffany said he is deeply “disturbed” by the reports of Afghan refugees coming to the United States, including Fort McCoy, and criticized the Biden administration for a lack of specifics on the number of refugees that could be coming to the state, how they will be screened, and what the resettlement process will look like.
Rep. Tiffany's position on the issue stands in complete contrast to that of Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin's. On Tuesday, Sen. Baldwin joined 45 of her colleagues in signing a bipartisan letter that called on the White House to protect Afghan women who are leaders, activists, journalists, and so forth.
The letter reads in part “We greatly appreciate your efforts to help save the lives of Afghans who have advanced U.S. and Afghan joint interests over the last generation, standing for peace, democracy, and equality.” It goes on to state that refugees are owed “unqualified support.”
Time will tell as the number of refugees and when they will arrive at Fort McCoy is still unknown. Gov. Tony Evers spent Wednesday touring farms across Wisconsin and told reporters during a stop in Columbus that the state has heard there could be anywhere from a couple hundred to 2,000 Afghan refugees taken in at Fort McCoy.
“We have open arms,” Gov. Evers said. “I do not believe that all of them that come here are going to end up in Wisconsin. But, we have a wonderful group of organizations, Lutheran Social Services, Jewish Social Services, all of them, that will be national in scope, that will be helping to place these people.”
The federal government has relocated 2,000 Afghan SIV applicants and their families so far with tens of thousands still waiting.