The WV Republican Party and Senator Shelley Moore Capito have been strong critics of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and both have expressed sympathy for the plight of Afghan citizens who worked closely with this country for the last two decades.

Here is an Axios map that documents where the first wave of Afghan refugees will resettle:

Mapped: Afghan refugees headed to 46 states https://t.co/d5aCenKaGH pic.twitter.com/GhpcGvF7ri

— Axios (@axios) September 16, 2021

Why is West Virginia one of only four states that will not welcome any Afghans? When Governor Justice was asked about the possibility of resettling the Afghans in August, he told WV Metro News “that’s a decision for later.” (It’s later, why doesn’t some reporter ask him again.)

Additionally, I could not find any statements by either Manchin or Capito that went beyond concern for their safety in Afghanistan. WV Metro News also noted that neither were among the forty-six senators who

signed a letter asking the Biden administration to expedite the evacuations of at-risk Afghans and create a specific humanitarian parole category for female leaders, journalists, activists, security forces and others who are at risk.

Given West Virginia’s nation-leading population decline, shouldn’t we have been among the first states to invite the Afghans to join us? Just a thought: maybe there is a connection between why West Virginia has lost population, especially among the young, and the state’s unwillingness to invite Afghan refugees to join us.