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On Tuesday afternoon, the Cajon Valley Union School District confirmed that one of two California families stuck in Afghanistan just hours after the final US flight out of Kabul has reached safety. There had been 8-families from the district in total in Afghanistan as the US evacuation kicked into gear over the past 2-weeks. On Monday, only two remained unaccounted for. The CVUSD said, “There are a total of seven adults and fourteen children that are safe in their homes in El Cajon. Students returned to school this week to the open arms of their teachers and classmates. 2 families are in the United States and flying home.  One family is safely out of Afghanistan and on their way back to the United States”.

Some reports said there were two of the eight El Cajon families may still have been trapped in Afghanistan after the final American plane left Kabul on Monday. The district said, “One family with three students was left behind in Afghanistan, and we are exploring strategies to rescue and bring them home. The safe return of our Cajon Valley family and raising awareness of the more than 20,000 invisible Americans according to our Family and Community Liaisons is our focus now”. The spokesperson for Cajon Valley, Howard Shen said, “The district was exploring alternative strategies to get the last two families out because the airlift is no longer an avenue”. The district also admired the efforts of Rep. Darrell Issa’s office to help to bring home the families.

Moreover, Darrell Issa’s office is among congressional offices from around the country that have been involved in helping their constituents and groups of Afghan allies reach safety by helping them get in touch with State, Defense Department officials, and NGOs on the ground. The final US plane left the airport on Monday and the last American soldier to step onboard was Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue. The office of Rep. Ami Bera confirmed that 2-dozen Sacramento-area students are stranded in Afghanistan and the Biden administration has not provided an update on their status. Bera’s spokesperson Travis Horne said, “Our office has been in close contact with the San Juan Unified School District and has urgently flagged this with the Department of Defense and State Department. We have not received an update from DOD or State”.