Arizona expects 1,600 Afghan evacuees to arrive through March

The federal government has notified Arizona that it should expect 1,610 Afghan evacuees to arrive through the end of March, according to the state Department of Economic Security. 

DES administers the Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program, which partners with the federal government to service refugees as they adjust to making Arizona their new home. The people expected to arrive from Afghanistan, though, won’t arrive through the refugee resettlement process. Instead, they’ll be part of a temporary humanitarian parole program called the Afghanistan Placement Assistance Program, said Tasya Peterson, a DES spokeswoman. 

According to a Department of Homeland Security document, the U.S. government will grant entry into the country to thousands Afghan evacuees on a case-by-case basis through a humanitarian parole program. They’ll be allowed to live in the country for about two years.