Last Afghan refugees leave temporary housing at Marine Corps Base Quantico

The last Afghan refugees who were temporarily housed at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia have left, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday. 

The base is the second of eight installations that were directed to temporarily house refugees that has completed operations.

Overall, more than 49,000 Afghan evacuees have been resettled across the country in efforts being led by the State Department.

“With operations now completed at Marine Corps Base Quantico, I would like to thank all the federal staff, servicemembers, and volunteers who made it possible for more than 49,000 Afghan evacuees to begin to rebuild their lives in America,” Robert Fenton, the senior response official for Operation Allies Welcome, said in a statement.

“We are grateful for the support the local community has shown our Afghan allies and the staff working with them throughout this historic effort,” he continued.

The US officially withdrew from Afghanistan on Aug. 31 and evacuated over 124,000 people as part of the process — the vast majority of whom were Afghan refugees.

The Pentagon established the housing sites for refugees and special immigrant visa holders while they were waiting to be resettled or as their applications were processing.

In mid-November, the last group of Afghan refugees housed at Fort Lee, Va., were resettled.

The Pentagon is still providing temporary housing facilities for a remaining 25,000 Afghans at six bases: Camp Atterbury, Ind.; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Pickett, Va.; and Fort McCoy, Wis.