TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Amazon, Chobani, UPS, and more than 30 other companies have vowed to hire and train refugees fleeing Afghanistan for the U.S.
The companies said Tuesday that they want to help the tens of thousands of Afghan refugees coming to America to integrate into the economy.
A first group of 37,000 Afghan refugees started making their way to states this month. An estimated 400 refugees from Afghanistan will be resettled in Idaho, primarily in the cities of Boise and Twin Falls.
Most of those resettled to the Gem State will be housed by host families, according to the Idaho Office for Refugees. Thirty-seven Afghans have been moved to Idaho already this year, including people who worked as guides and translators for the U.S. military during the 20-year war.
The 33 companies said they were joining the Tent Coalition for Afghan Refugees, a coalition founded by Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya.
"The Tent Coalition for Afghan Refugees is a network of diverse companies from across the U.S. stepping up to integrate Afghan refugees, including by training and hiring them," the nonprofit's website reads. "This effort will empower Afghans beginning a new life in America – in support of the U.S. government’s long-term vision of economic and social integration."
Chobani has a long-standing policy of employing and supporting refugees, with roughly one-third of workers at the yogurt company's Twin Falls plant being refugees or immigrants.
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