Task Force McCoy Distributes Employment Authorization Documents

Photo By Staff Sgt. Yesenia Barajas | An Afghan family gives their number to U.S. Army Reserve Pfc. Devan McFadden, right, assigned to 302nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Chicopee, Massachusetts, at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Dec. 30, 2021. McFadden verified and checked for the family's Employment Authorization Document. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Yesenia Barajas, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

12.30.2021

Story by Spc. Caitlin Wilkins 

Operation Allies Welcome - Operation Allies Refuge   

FORT McCOY, Wis. – Task Force McCoy Soldiers are distributing Employment Authorization Documents to Afghan evacuees here, Dec. 30, 2021. Through Operation Allies Welcome, guests receive training and proper documents before they leave through the resettlement process.

EADs allow immigrants to legally work in the United States while they complete the permanent resident process.

“They’re getting an identification card that shows that they’re legally allowed to work here,” explained Pfc. Devan Mcfadden, a human resources specialist with the 302nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Westover, Massachusetts.

Afghan evacuees can either come to the distribution buildings, or the cards are brought to the barracks and distributed there. While a majority of the EADs have arrived, some cases are still in the review process and cards will be mailed to Afghan evacuees after they leave Fort McCoy.

“When people get their card they are very relieved, and they’re happy to have it,” explained Spc. James Lepow, a bridge crewmember with the 372nd Engineer Company, Pewaukee, Wisconsin. “The people that don’t get it they’re filled with the anxiety of what happens now? ‘How do I get my card?’ So we tell them what we’ve been told, which is whenever you get sent to your resettlement agency they should help you get it.”

After Afghan evacuees receive their EAD they can start applying for jobs once they find out where they’ll be resettled. After months of waiting, many of the Afghan evacuees are relieved to have their documents in hand.

“We went into the barracks and there was this one man who was very very nervous about getting his card,” explained Mcfadden. “He gave us his hummingbird number, and we searched it and saw we had it, and he just broke into tears. He was so excited, and his phone started ringing. It almost played a theme song for him getting his card. Our translator told us what he had said on the phone with his family was, ‘oh my gosh, oh my gosh I got my card. I’m going to work. I’m going to get you guys here.’ He was the only one from his family who was able to make it here, so he was very over the top excited. He was telling them how he’s going to save them. He’s going to bring them home, and he’s going to do everything in his power to get them here. It was very emotional.”

Soldiers distributing the EADs see the impact they have on the Afghan evacuees waiting to complete the resettlement process.

“It’s opened my eyes to what these people are going through,” said Lepow. “You know as a natural-born citizen, I never think about these things, but for them, this is the card that opens up their lives. Some of these people were engineers and all sorts of things before they were forced to flee over here, so it changes a lot of stuff.

• Date Taken: 12.30.2021
• Date Posted: 12.30.2021 17:25
• Story ID: 412193
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US