Afghan Refugees

"We owe it to these people who took a chance with us...if some of them want to come to America, I think that's fine with me," Mitch McConnell said.

Over the last 20 years, data shows that Afghans have settled mostly in northern Virginia, the Maryland suburbs of D.C. and northern California.

Amid the influx of Afghan refugees, former Trump officials are pushing a strict immigration agenda reminiscent of the former administration.

"I'm frightened I will be left behind," said an Afghan man with a visa. "I don't know what the issue is—is it a political issue, or they don't care about us?"

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the delay was due to a limited measles outbreak among Afghan refugees arriving in America.

The poll found 80 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans are in favor of resettling refugees who worked with the U.S.

"We think we are in some kind of jail," said one would-be evacuee as she and hundreds of others have been stuck at hotels for over a week.

"I pray that many countries welcome them and protect those who are seeking a new life," the pontiff said on Sunday.

"Where's the rest of the media? Is there really going to only be one story about this before they get released into our country?" the former president's son tweeted.

As with other authoritarian states, the democratic world must support Afghan rights defenders and hold the Taliban accountable for abuses.

Amnesty International said in a letter that the EU should not "shift the responsibility for the protection of refugees to third countries."

An interfaith coalition called on the Polish government to offer aid to the people stuck at the border, who "suffer from hunger, cold and indifference."

"They like to raise that specter of maybe some of those little kids I saw at Fort McCoy are terrorists...even though they've been vetted," Evers said.

"This is the most dangerous time in an already extraordinarily dangerous mission," the secretary of state warned.

The 23-year-old, among the 13 U.S. service members killed in the ISIS-K attack, shared a pic of her holding an infant amid the evacuation.

Estimates suggest that 100,000 to 300,000 Afghan nationals need to be evacuated due to their work with the U.S. and its allies.

"There will sadly be people who haven't got through, people who might qualify," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as the U.K.'s final flights depart Friday.

"Anybody who's been killed right now was an American ally of some type," said Matt Zeller, veteran Army captain and founder of the nonprofit No One Left Behind program.

Officials in the Biden administration said they are making sure the refugees are vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible upon arriving in the United States.

If the United States can walk away so easily, the least it can do is open up legitimate, expedited pathways for innocent Afghan civilians to leave their country.

While an even number or Democrats, Republicans and Independents support the idea, some right-wing media figures disagree.

"Where the Afghans are housed is a living hell. Trash, urine, fecal matter, spilled liquids and vomit cover the floors," said a leaked email obtained from the U.S. Central Command.

The 10,400 people evacuated Monday was more than double the 3,900 that the military reported the previous 24 hours.

The marine was shown pouring water from his own bottle directly into the mouths of several thirsty Afghan children.

"We're going to try to get as many as we can," the Republican said of Afghan refugees on Sunday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to bolster the military operation.

A collection of photos documenting the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over last Sunday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey would not become a "refugee warehouse" for fleeing Afghans.

An Afghan woman who has waited 3 years for the U.S. government to take action on her visa pleaded for it to "start taking action. As immediately as you can."

The Republican said it is "vitally important" to keep Afghan allies "safe from harm," but stressed there will need to be a thorough vetting process.