New Mexico’s Holloman Air Force Base, near Alamogordo in Otero County, and Fort Bliss Training Center Doña Ana Range Complex in Chaparral are busy places these days. These two military installations, along with six others throughout the nation, are being used by the Biden administration to provide temporary housing for evacuated, at-risk Afghan refugees. In the end some 50,000 people will be housed at these sites.

Holloman is the smaller of the two New Mexico facilities, accommodating around 5,000. Donna Aña is nearly three times the size; more like a town, the complex is providing shelter for some 14,000 asylum hopefuls. 

According to information posted at KOAT7 Action News, the US government during the last two weeks has evacuated three categories of people from Afghanistan, being Americans and green card holders, individuals included in a special visa program, such as translators and those who supported the US during its presence in Afghanistan, and finally Afghans who were vulnerable if left in their homeland after the withdrawal of US forces.

State Leaders Approve Bringing Afghan Refugees to New Mexico

In late August New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives Brian Egolf (D) in a letter to US President Joe Biden expressed the state’s support in aiding Afghan refugees to relocate. “New Mexico is ready to help and resettle those individuals and families who’ve spent the past two decades supporting our U.S. troops, diplomatic personnel and efforts to bring peace, democracy and security to Afghanistan,” they said. 

New Mexico US Senator Martin Heinrich (D) echoed  this approval on his Facebook page, “New Mexico stands ready to welcome the Afghan refugees who will be housed at Holloman Air Force Base. We will not turn our backs on the Afghans who helped us over the past twenty years and are counting on us now. I am closely monitoring this situation to ensure Holloman has all the resources necessary to protect the health and safety of evacuees throughout this process.”

New Mexico Congresswomen Tour Holloman Air Force Base

New Mexico Congresswoman Yvette Herrell (R), who represents New Mexico’s second congressional district of which Lea County is a part, is also  closely monitoring the temporary placement of evacuees at the state’s military facilities. 

She and Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (D) of Albuquerque, who represents central New Mexico’s first congressional district, jointly toured Holloman Air Force Base on Tuesday, September 7. The two women spent time with American service personnel, as well as with Afghan asylum-seekers themselves. Both congresswomen wanted to confirm in person that Afghan refugees are being cared for properly at New Mexico’s military bases. 

Although on different ends of the political spectrum, they both support the humanitarian efforts the US is taking to shelter Afghans, especially families, women and children. 

“New Mexico is proud to do our part and welcomes these Afghan families with open arms,” said Rep. Stansbury. “I will be doing all I can to support this mission and those needing help and support as they are receiving vital services on their way to new lives in the United States.”

Lea County’s Congresswoman Herrell Is Concerned About Unanswered Questions

Rep. Herrell is not so quick to blatantly support the government’s resettlement mission. She is concerned about unanswered questions. She is not totally satisfied with the way the US is handling the entrance of Afghan asylum-seekers into the United States, especially when it comes to the manner by which the government is vetting these people. 

In a Thursday, September 9 press release, Rep. Herrell announced that she and 40 members of Congress, all Republicans, have sent a letter to President Joe Biden. The letter voices “concerns about the vetting process for Afghan nationals brought to America and the reliability of records used to establish their criminal histories,” says the press release. 

The letter itself states, “In past briefings, DHS [Department of Homeland Security] officials have explained the department performs background checks using its national security and intelligence databases within the United States.” 

The letter goes on to say that the Department of Homeland Security admits that it does minimal background checks outside of the US and that it has little access to other nations’ criminal background checking systems. Additionally, the letter suggests that databases of nations where widespread corruption exists and where governments have failed are unreliable. “This is certainly the case in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and likely true of the previous Afghan government, ” says the letter. 

The letter then points out specific examples of questionable vetting that has taken place in the past and finally presents a list of questions for the Biden administration to answer, ”including identification of Americans still trapped in Afghanistan, policy for paroled Afghan nationals in the United States, plans for permanent resettlement of Afghan evacuees, and details regarding national security concerns.” 

Congresswoman Herrell, although wanting to help Afghan allies, is committed to ensuring that Americans in America are safe. “We have to protect Americans on the home front and no one wants to see a repeat of a 9/11 situation,” she is quoted as saying in an article posted at cbs4local.com. 

Thousands of Afghan refugees are in the United States and more are coming. According to a CBSNews.com article, many of these individuals do not have “approved visas”. Many are not eligible for federal social programs. On top of this, some 39,000 evacuees are still at military bases in Europe and the Middle East “undergoing U.S. immigration processing and security vetting.” The hope of these people is to resettle in the United States. Their home, Afghanistan, will be unsafe for them under Taliban rule.