A watchdog report released this month found U.S. aid organizations faced significant issues resettling thousands of Afghans evacuated from their county in 2021. 

The report was released by Office of Inspector General and reviews the Afghan Placement and Assistance Program, an initiative led by the Department of State in coordination with nine refugee resettlement agencies tasked with helping evacuees with things like finding housing, schooling and work authorization. 

The report found just over 72,000 Afghans had been resettled by last August. Resettlement agencies interviewed praised the "unparalleled coordination" between federal agencies and the funding allotted to the program, but said they faced issues "related to arrivals, housing, documentation, cultural orientation, staffing, program guidance, tracking systems, and medical care."

They said the fast pace and large number of evacuee arrivals, coupled with pandemic slowdowns and program delays, complicated the resettlement process. They said those challenges were compounded by staffing shortages, because many agencies had been cut back due to a decrease in refugee admissions in recent years. 

Less than 12,000 refugees were admitted to the U.S. during the 2021 and 2020 fiscal years, according to the report.