Afghan child refugees in Illinois
A man walks with a child through Fort Bliss' Doña Ana Village where Afghan refugees are being housed, in New Mexico, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. The Biden administration provided the first public look inside the U.S. military base where Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan are screened, amid questions about how the government is caring for the refugees and vetting them. AP Photo/David Goldman
Since Afghanistan collapsed into Taliban control in August as the world looked on, some 70,000 Afghans were evacuated into the United States. Almost 850 of those have come here to Illinois, with that number possibly expanding to 3000. Not all of the children who came were accompanied by a parent or guardian, however. The non-profit organization that's housing the most Afghan children in shelters, Heartland Alliance, has approximately 80 Afghan minors in 4 shelters in Chicago, and according to a recent ProPublica investigative piece, chaos has erupted in those Chicago shelters with children suffering from the traumas of a hasty evacuation, of war, and of separation from their families. We spoke to the reporter behind that story.
GUEST:
Melissa Sanchez
Reporter, ProPublica
These Afghan children, traumatized by war and a sudden evacuation to a new country, are harming themselves and others at a shelter where workers say they’re unable to provide proper care.https://t.co/XU3cfuYAVM
— ProPublica (@propublica) October 31, 2021
Prepared for web by Owen Henderson
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