Joe Biden taps emergency funds to try to help Afghans flee

President Biden directed the State Department on Monday to tap into emergency money to help speed up processing of Afghans who risked their lives to assist the U.S. war effort, saying an additional $500 million is needed to handle the surge of people.

The move comes after the stunning collapse of Afghanistan’s government, cutting short the time American authorities thought they had to vet and welcome tens of thousands of refugees. Now the Biden administration is engaged in a crash effort to get as many people out before the last American troops leave on Aug. 31.

Mr. Biden said the money is needed to meet “unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs of refugees, victims of conflict, and other persons at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan, including applicants for Special Immigrant Visas.”

Mr. Biden said the money can be shipped to other departments or transferred to nongovernmental organizations to help out.

The Special Immigrant Visa, or SIV, is available to translators, guides and others who assisted the U.S. in the war and nation-building operations in Afghanistan over the last two decades.

Groups involved in trying to protect the Afghan allies say about 20,000 allies, along with 50,000 of their spouses and children, are waiting in the queue to come.

U.S. officials said Monday that they believe they have capacity to handle slightly more than 20,000.

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