Michigan Enjoyer has obtained the numbers of Afghan refugees who’ve come to the state since the launch of Operation Allies Welcome, a program designed to resettle Afghans in America after President Joe Biden’s abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Only 77 refugees from Afghanistan have arrived in Michigan in the 2025 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2024, down from 666 in fiscal year 2023. Over 2,800 refugees have entered the state since 2022.

According to Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, 100,000 Afghan refugees were brought in under the program, allowed to stay for two years and could then seek permanent asylum in the U.S. 

The majority of Afghans brought to Michigan were resettled in “welcoming” counties. Refugees resettled in Oakland (587), Washtenaw (510), Kent (506), Ingham (464), Wayne (383), and Kalamazoo (319) counties, with 32 being placed in other counties before this fiscal year.

It’s hard to calculate the total of taxpayer funds diverted to support Afghan refugees in Michigan, because it’s difficult to find a living expense that wasn’t paid by Michigan taxpayers, either directly through agencies or through  a massive web of government-funded nonprofits. 

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services advertises cash assistance, medical assistance, plus $500 per month from the Office of Global Michigan’s “Newcomers Rental Subsidy” program. 

Additionally, a review of the Office of Global Michigan’s Refugee Assistance Plan governing services through September this year describes supports for Afghan refugees, including “permanent housing,” legal services, mental health-based family strengthening services, college assistance, a counseling program through Wayne State University, six “Newcomer Consultants” to create English Language Learner programs, transportation assistance, and two additional integration programs for Afghan women.

Partnering nonprofit organizations include the Afghan Community of Michigan at the Allen Neighborhood Center in Lansing, Samaritas, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County, St. Vincent Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, and Bethany Christian Services. All these organizations receive significant and ongoing federal and state taxpayer funding. 

Kent testified last week that there are approximately 2,000 Afghans in the U.S. with known terror connections, after an Afghan national shot two guardsmen in Washington, D.C. Since then, the Trump administration ordered a complete halt on immigration requests from Afghanistan, pending the outcome of a more thorough vetting process. 

At a time when Michigan is experiencing a housing crisis, energy costs are rising, and our state ranks second in America for unemployment, it seems like an odd choice to import citizens from another country and pay their expenses. 

President Joe Biden’s two-year limit is up for many of our new Afghan residents. Hopefully they have taken steps toward permanent citizenship and are contributing to Michigan’s labor and housing market, like the rest of us, so they can pay back our contribution to their resettlement. 

Otherwise, they might soon find themselves back where they started.

Anna Hoffman is a hockey mom of three living in Ann Arbor. Follow her on X @shoesonplease.