The first lot of evacuees inbound to the United States from Afghanistan arrived in the state of New Jersey at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst overnight, according to media reports citing statements from a military spokesperson.

Even though the exact number of evacuees from Afghanistan and their duration of stay in New Jersey is still unclear, officials from the United States military previously said that nearly 10,000 people will be given shelter for up to a year, according to reports from the Associated Press.

Ariel Owings, a Senior Airman in the country’s military forces, said that more evacuees are expected to arrive “in the coming days”. Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party, said that a significant number of Afghans are expected to come to the state and their arrival was imminent.

A total of four United States military bases will be engaged in hosting the evacuees from Afghanistan, including the one in New Jersey. 

Other military bases include Virginia’s Fort Lee, Fort Bliss in Texas and Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy.

Governor Murphy, who did not provide any details about the government’s plan to host the evacuees, said that the state will do what it can to provide help. Earlier this week, he said that the migrants are likely to be relocated in areas where the Afghan diaspora exists, citing previous airlift operations conducted by the United States.

Since August 14, when the Taliban seized the Afghan capital of Kabul, more than 82,000 people have been evacuated from the country in one of the biggest US airlifts in history, according to reports from Associated Press.

The pace has increased, and it’s still chaotic as people seek to leave the country. Afghans trying to reach the Kabul airport face a number of dangers, and there are more who want to leave than will be able to.

Those that make it out will face resettlement challenges, either in the US or somewhere else, and time is short. President Joe Biden set an August 31 deadline to complete the US-led evacuation.

(With AP inputs)