Iowa National Guard members to help resettle Afghan refugees

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of Iowa National Guard members are being deployed to help resettle Afghan refugees.

About 30 members of the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City are being deployed. About 35 others are from the 132nd Wing in Des Moines.

The Iowa members will be assigned to an undisclosed location in the U.S. to assist with Operation Allies Welcome, an effort to bring U.S. citizens home from Afghanistan and to resettle vulnerable Afghan refugees.

The Iowa National Guard said guard members will deploy for roughly 60 to 90 days starting next month. A spokesman for the Iowa National Guard said he couldn’t provide specific details about where the members will go.

At least 50,000 Afghans are expected to be admitted into the U.S. following the fall of Kabul as part of an “enduring commitment” to help people who aided the American war effort and others who are particularly vulnerable under Taliban rule, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said.