More than two-dozen Sacramento-area students are still stuck in Afghanistan, now three days after U.S. evacuation efforts ended.
"Over the weekend we had three families return, which include five students, but we still have 27 students who are still out in Afghanistan with 19 families," said Melissa Bassanelli, deputy superintendent of San Juan Unified School District. "We are estimating 72 members of our community trying to get back home."
One of the congressional offices is that of Rep. Ami Bera, a Democrat who represents the district. Bera's office told NPR it had been in contact with the school district and has "urgently flagged" the situation with the State Department and the Department of Defense. The confirmed number of San Juan Unified School District students still in the war-torn country is up to 27, representing 19 families. School officials say the kids' grades range from younger than elementary through high school. Sacramento is home to more than 10% of Afghan natives living in the United States.