The delays are the most recent example of the massive challenge confronting the U.S. government as it has raced to evacuate and resettle tens of thousands of Afghan families. While the world’s attention has been focused for the past week on the events in Kabul, waves of Afghans have been landing in the United States.
At Dulles, the slow processing has highlighted both the enormity of vetting so many evacuees on the fly, as well as the improvisational nature of the federal response.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said that as of Friday morning, 14,000 Afghan men, women and children had landed at Dulles after scrambling to catch flights out of Kabul.
In Washington, administration officials said they are aware of the delays and have made adjustments, but emphasized that airport delays are the result of a stringent screening process.
“I think the important context here is why that is, and that is because our security vetting process is so thorough,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.
She said Afghan refugees go through multiple layers of background checks before boarding a U.S.-bound plane. After landing, additional processes include double-checking manifests.
“And in a limited number of cases we have a vetting process that may be unresolved … that might lead to a delay in individuals being held on the plane so we can have that process seen through …” she said.
President Biden has set an Aug. 31 deadline for getting Americans and their allies safely out of Afghanistan. The United States has relocated about 110,600 people since the end of July, according to the White House.
Two people with knowledge of the situation at Dulles who weren’t authorized to speak publicly said passengers on some recent flights waited nearly 12 hours before being allowed to leave the aircrafts. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the delays, said in some cases it was taking up to 10 hours before passengers were allowed to disembark.
Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said during a Friday briefing the Pentagon is aware of reports of delays for Afghans at Dulles Airport and of refugees being held on planes for hours, but that improvements were being made.
“As we understand it this morning, they have worked through the difficulties and we believe that wait time now upon landing is going to get much, much shorter,” he said, referring additional questions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said the agency is working to conduct the screening and security vetting as quickly as possible with the dual goals of protecting national security and helping vulnerable Afghans who supported the United States. He said the agency activated a system to enhance the speed at which individuals are screened and vetted.
Three people with knowledge of the effort who weren’t permitted to speak publicly about it said Friday that new arrivals were moving through more quickly.
Officials also were looking to expand the number of airports designated to receive evacuation flights, which would relieve pressure on Dulles. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said Friday that Philadelphia International Airport had been designated to receive evacuee flights.
Florence Brown, a spokeswoman for Philadelphia International Airport, said it is preparing to begin receiving evacuation flights.
The U.S. State Department didn’t respond to questions about the delays, citing “the complicated nature of these relocations and to protect the privacy and security of those arriving.”
At Dulles, motor coaches idled outside the main terminal Friday as groups of refugees were escorted out. Among those arriving were women and children — some just months old — and men carrying backpacks and plastic bags with clothing, snacks and baby essentials.
Some wore coats, warm blankets and sweaters as they exited the terminal into the simmering heat, with lightning flickering on the horizon. A man with his family carried bags with chips and a baby formula box. A woman next to him held a baby in a red blanket as they walked to the bus.
Three girls, who appeared to be about 4 to 7 years old, walked behind while holding hands and waving to the news media on the sidelines.
“Thank you,” said a young Afghan boy, who looked to be about 11 years old, posing for a camera.
Behind him, Muhammed Nabi Darwish walked hurriedly to catch up with the group as an escort called him to hurry to the bus.
“Tired,” he said when asked how he was doing, making sleep gestures with his hands. “Thank you. Thank you. Don’t speak English,” he said with a smile before boarding the bus.
Inside the airport, a line of nearly 200 evacuees extended across an area near the Emirates airline ticketing counter. Each person held a sticker with a number, while waiting to be called to tables where officials in masks and protective face shields held paperwork. Only after they were called, and their paperwork reviewed, were they allowed to move through the secured area to outside, where buses waited.
Evacuees were being transported to the nearby Dulles Expo Center, a 100,000-square foot facility that normally hosts business conventions and trade shows, but has temporarily been converted into a shelter before evacuees move to their next destinations.
Muhammad Lodin, 29, was among those waiting to greet the newcomers. He drove to the airport straight from work Friday afternoon to see a childhood friend arriving at Dulles who had posted on Facebook that his flight landed before 6 a.m. But after more than an hour of waiting, Lodin had yet to spot him.
“It’s a long immigration process,” Lodin said. “But there’s no other option. I just want to see him and welcome him to America,” he said.
Lodin, of Fairfax County, left Afghanistan in 2016, but his brother and extended family remain there. His brother, a UNESCO worker, hasn’t been be able to get to the airport with his wife and three children.
“It makes me want to cry, to see my country’s people suffering,” Lodin said. “What happened yesterday was horrible. My own family can’t make it here. I am just glad my friend got a chance.”
Earlier groups of evacuees have flown to the U.S. on flights operated by the military, but this week, several U.S. carriers, including American, Atlas, Delta, Hawaiian, Omni and United, joined the effort as part of the Department of Defense’s Civil Reserve Air Fleet program. The little-used post-World War II program is using 18 commercial airplanes to aid the military evacuation.
The carriers have transported evacuees to Dulles from intermediate stops in Germany and Qatar.
As of Friday, United Airlines said it had transported nearly 2,000 people, including U.S. citizens and Afghan evacuees, on five flights.
Antonio Olivo contributed to this report
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