By Justine Borneman
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday that Maryland has aligned with a national organization to help resettle Afghan refugees in the state.
Hogan said Maryland is one of 17 states that has joined with Welcome.US to assist Afghans who fled the country last month as the United States pulled out of the country and the Taliban took control of the central government in Kabul.
The state also expects to receive Afghan nationals through “Operation Allies Refuge,” a U.S. military operation started last summer by the Biden administration to relocate at-risk Afghans who had helped the American war effort over the past two decades.
Maryland currently ranks fourth in the nation for accepting and resettling special immigrant visa holders (SIVs), the governor’s office said.
According to the Department of Human Services, as of August the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees (MORA) has helped 465 newly arrived SIVs. The state has resettled 6,800 SIVs over the past 10 years.
Welcome.US is co-chaired by former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. It provides access for the American people to help the needs of Afghan allies through donations, volunteering and rehousing.
“There was a time not too long ago when we would say that ‘politics stops at the water’s edge,’” Hogan said in a statement. “Sadly, that is not the case anymore. But this call to action transcends the toxic politics of the moment, and I ask all Marylanders—and all Americans—to help us prove once again why this nation truly is the ‘the last best hope of earth.’”