World News | US Could Admit More Than 50K People from Airlift

Washington, Sep 3 (AP) The US Secretary of Homeland Security says the government expects to admit more than 50,000 people into the country from the Afghanistan airlift.

Alejandro Mayorkas suggested Friday that figure could climb in what he called an unprecedented evacuation. Mayorkas told reporters during a news conference that the US has brought more than 40,000 people into the country from Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul last month.

Also Read | Taliban Says 'China Is Our Most Important Partner, It Is Ready To Invest and Rebuild Afghanistan'.

About a quarter of those who have come so far are US citizens or permanent residents. The rest, he said, include people who have received the special immigrant visas for Afghans who worked for the US or NATO as interpreters or in some other capacity. Also included in this group are people who have applied but not yet received the visa and those considered “vulnerable” under Taliban rule.

That last group includes women, children, and members of civil society, Mayorkas said.

Also Read | US: ‘Trans Woman’ Charged With Indecent Exposure for ‘Flashing’ Private Parts at Women in Los Angeles Spa.

The secretary, who came to the US as a refugee from Cuba as a child with his family, spoke proudly of the evacuation effort and said the number of people admitted could exceed 50,000.

He said all those entering the US are undergoing security screening and vetting in a number of transit points, where they are tested for COVID-19 and offered a vaccine. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)