KANSAS CITY, Mo. — About 1,200 evacuees from Afghanistan are expected to settle in Missouri as part of the first group arriving in the U.S., according to U.S. State Department data.
The data obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press detailed how a first group of 37,000 Afghanistan evacuees will be resettled across the country after they fled from their country when the U.S. ended its long war there and withdrew last month.
Many of the evacuees coming to Missouri are expected to settle in the urban areas of St. Louis and Kansas City. Leaders of those two cities and St. Louis County issued statements in August saying they are ready to welcome the new arrivals.
White House officials have told Kansas City leaders that refugees could begin arriving in the Kansas City area as soon as this week, a city official told KSHB 41.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said that region could accommodate up to 1,000 Afghanistan evacuees.
Three resettlement agencies in the Kansas City area have said they have the capacity to welcome 625 people from Afghanistan but those numbers could change.
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President Joe Biden's administration has asked Congress for funding to resettle 65,000 Afghans by the end of this month and 95,000 by September of next year.
KSHB 41 In-Depth Digital Reporter Tod Palmer contributed to this report.
