More than 230 Afghan refugee children are alone in the U.S. without their families
More than 230 Afghan children are alone in the U.S. while their parents or caregivers remain in Afghanistan, according to figures from the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
More than 230 Afghan children are alone in the U.S. while their parents or caregivers remain in Afghanistan, according to new figures from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement obtained by NBC News, and as it gets harder to evacuate anyone from Afghanistan, there is little hope of speedy reunions.
Just one flight with evacuees leaves Kabul each week, and some countries where Afghans wait while applying to come to the U.S. have stopped accepting refugees.
As of Aug. 30, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, had 104 children in its care, while 130 were in the custody of state governments or non-governmental organizations. Of the 104 still in federal care, 42 are in foster care, according to ORR data.
During the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghans who had helped the U.S. in August 2021, many Afghan families made the hard decision to separate to get as many family members as possible to safety. More than 1,500 children came to the U.S. unaccompanied, and ORR has placed more than 1,400 with family members or other adults.
The goal remains to reunify all Afghan children with their parents or relatives in the U.S., a spokesperson said, although many do not yet have family outside Afghanistan.
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