Fort Bliss in Texas is turning from radars to refugees, as the military base becomes ground zero for Afghan evacuees.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn says the fort is preparing to receive at least 10,000 Afghan refugees, and military officials expect that number could be much higher.
Fort Bliss is not foreign to hosting guests. As reported by Just the News, the base previously housed thousands of illegal immigrant minors.
The portable tents set up for the migrants can hold up to 10,000 unaccompanied minors, but at the time of Cornyn’s visit only 2,500 were there, with an average reported stay of seven days.
“My hope is that we can get those people out of Afghanistan that we’ve worked with these past 20 years because if we can’t, many of them will simply be killed along with their families,” Cornyn said.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that the Biden administration wants “the capacity to get up to several thousand immediately, and want to be prepared for the potential of tens of thousands” of Afghan refugees.
“Bliss and McCoy have the capability right now — and what’s advantageous is with a little bit of work, they could increase their capacity in very short order,” he added.
American citizens in Kabul won’t necessarily be given priority to leave.
"Once we get more airlift out of Kabul, we’re going to put as many people on those planes as we can,” Kirby said. “There will be a mix, not just American citizens, but perhaps some Afghan SIV applicants as well. We’re going to focus on getting people out of the country, then sorting it out at the next stop. It’s not going to be just Americans first, then SIV applicants. We’re going to focus on getting as many folks out as we can."
