JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With less than a week until the United States’ Afghanistan withdrawal deadline, a local agency is preparing to house Afghan refugees in Jacksonville.
White House officials said Wednesday that about 12,000 evacuees landed in Washington, D.C., over the last 24 hours.
Dozens are en route to Jacksonville, though the exact number is not known.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the U.S. doesn’t know the exact number of Americans remaining in Afghanistan because some of them entered the country without registering with the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
According to White House officials, more than 82,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban took control, but at least 10,000 more are waiting to get out of the country before Aug. 31. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announced Wednesday that there has not been an American fatality.
”There have been no U.S. troops killed since the 14th. I know of one minor injury. I know of no American citizens who have been killed on this. We don’t have perfect visibility to everything going on in Kabul. We know of no American casualties,” Kirby said.
EXPLAINER: What’s happening with Afghanistan evacuations?
At least 150 of the refugees waiting to be evacuated from Afghanistan will be coming to Jacksonville. Catholic Charities Jacksonville Associate Director Matt Schmitt said they’ll arrive as early as Sept. 1.
“These people in Afghanistan are fleeing the country for fearing for fear of their lives, persecutions, freedoms that we enjoy here in the United States,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt said Catholic Christian Ministries will first try to find a U.S. tie to the refugee family -- someone who can assist their staff in offering them houses or other local resources. The resettlement process is expected to last somewhere between 30 or 90 days. If the family doesn’t have a tie to the U.S., they still receive the same services from the federally-funded program.
“We register them for Social Security benefits. We help them get into their first apartment. We set up their first apartment, and as part of the program, we receive donated furniture in like-new or gently-new condition, so we outfit their apartment with home goods, food,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt said they’ll also help find refugees employment and also help them learn English.
WATCH: Schmitt appears on “The Morning Show”
The U.S., as a whole, is anticipating the arrival of 50,000 total Afghan evacuees.
Afghan evacuees have also been arriving at military bases in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Texas and Virginia where the military is providing temporary housing, basic need and transportation.