Jersey City Refugee Agency Awaits Incoming Afghans With Open Arms

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Refugee organizations in the U.S. and Jersey City have been preparing for an influx of refugees for weeks as the U.S. pulled troops from the region — the impending uptick is no surprise. What did catch organizers and advocates by surprise was the process by which the evacuation of U.S. ambassadors and refugees happened.

"We all knew this was coming," Alain Mentha said, Director of Welcome Home Jersey City, "It just hasn't happened fast enough — anybody who thought Kabul was going to remain safe after the embassy was cleared out was very much mistaken."

Soon after President Biden began to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Taliban fighters swiftly seized control of Afghanistan over the weekend. The takeover forced the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel in Kabul and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee after Biden's withdrawal of troops from the country. The exodus marks the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the nation.

Thousands have crowded the airport in Kabul over the past several days, hoping for a way out of the country on U.S. planes as foreign forces assist in the evacuation. Mentha has been following reports coming out of Afghanistan and said he and others at Welcome Home are heartbroken, seeing images of those who may not make it out of the country.

Welcome Home is continuing its partnership with International Rescue Committee in Elizabeth to resettle refugees coming either directly from Afghanistan or, more likely, from a processing center for Afghans with Special Immigrant Visas in Virginia.

Welcome Home's Jersey City apartment will serve as an in-between location for families resettling in New Jersey. The three-bedroom apartment is fully furnished, and can accommodate a large family. The family's stay there will be temporary until International Rescue Committee in Elizabeth is able to find permanent housing for the family.

Mentha explained that even one transitional apartment, like the one set up by Welcome Home, can be crucial to effectively resettling families. Once a family's visa paperwork is processed, it can be as little as 24 hours before they are sent to the area where a resettlement agency, like Welcome Home, receives them.

"Obviously that's not enough time to find an apartment for a family," Mentha said, "It's exciting to be able to do this and kind of serendipitous that it's all coming together right now when Afghanistan is in such crisis."

Mentha added that he hopes the transitional apartment is a step in the right direction for Welcome Home and Jersey City to move towards community sponsorship of refugee families, especially as many more are anticipated to come to the region.

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