Friday April 14, 2023
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THE FORUM DAILY

Pfc. Aimal Taraki, who served as an interpreter alongside U.S. Marines
in Afghanistan, has now become a Marine himself, Jeff Schogol writes
for Task and Purpose
<[link removed]>.
 

After two years working with U.S. and NATO troops fighting the Taliban,
Taraki obtained a visa to immigrate to the U.S. in 2018. "I decided that
I can do any job and have any career, but first I want to be a Marine,"
Taraki said. "This way I can say thank you to the United States and the
Marine Corps for helping me." 

For Afghans arriving after the 2021 Taliban takeover, however, finding
refuge in the U.S. is still proving to be a major challenge.   

Stories like that of A. Tabesh are stark reminders of why we need an
Afghan Adjustment Act.
<[link removed]>
As reported by Antonio Olivo of The Washington Post
<[link removed]>,
Tabesh worked with the CIA in Afghanistan and is now struggling to
support his family after relocating to the U.S. 

Meanwhile, an Afghan asylum-seeker who presented himself to authorities
at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 has been flown back to the U.S. after
ICE mistakenly deported him, Hamed Aleaziz of the Los Angeles Times
<[link removed]>
reports. 

Despite the myriad challenges to resettlement, local communities
continue to welcome Afghans:  

* In Virginia, the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership and The Secular
Society are supporting female Afghan veterans building a new life. Click
through - there's a lot more to the story. (Heather Rousseau, The
Roanoke Times
<[link removed]>) 

* In New York, Brooklyn Neighbors for Refugees is preparing to sponsor
a second refugee family to resettle in the community. (Mary Grace
Puszka, Episcopal Ministries of Long Island
<[link removed]>) 

* Micah Riggio speaks with one of the Afghan allies his family is
hosting in a youth-produced story for KUOW
<[link removed]>. 

Welcome to Friday's edition of The Forum Daily. I'm Dan
Gordon, the Forum's strategic communications VP, and the great Forum
Daily team also includes Clara Villatoro, Joanna Taylor and Thea
Holcomb. If you have a story to share from your own community, please
send it to me at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>.     

'THEY TREAT US LIKE DOGS' - U.S. Border Patrol is holding some
asylum-seekers in "an open-air holding cell between the two layers of
border wall ... with no shelter, no food and minimal water" for days,
Kate Morrissey reports for the San Diego Union-Tribune
<[link removed]>.
"There are no rights for humans now," said Obaidullah, a former Afghan
translator for the U.S. Army, while trapped with more than 100 other
asylum-seekers. "They treat us like dogs, like animals."  

DACA HEALTH CARE - The Biden administration is expanding access to
Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance to Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Rafael Bernal reports for The Hill
<[link removed]>.
The expansion will "make it easier for current beneficiaries to stay in
the program and in the United States, especially as older DACA
recipients reach middle age" - but as DACA continues to face legal
challenges, the number of recipients is decreasing. We need permanent
solutions
<[link removed]>.
 

DANGEROUS JOURNEYS - A new International Organization for Migration
(IOM) report
<[link removed]>
finds that the first quarter of 2023 was the deadliest since 2017 for
migrants crossing the busy Central Mediterranean route. IOM Director
General António Vitorino called the crisis "intolerable." The IOM cites
a need for greater cooperation between states, support for NGOs involved
in sea rescues and "further concerted action to dismantle criminal
smuggling networks."  

HONORING JESUS - A post office in Arlington, Virginia, has been named
after Jesus Collazos, a Colombian immigrant who served the city as a
mail carrier for 25 years, Héctor Alejandro Arzate reports for DCist
<[link removed]>.
Collazos, who died in 2020, was a "a beloved figure" on his mail route
who often brought in groceries for the elderly and helped children with
math homework. "Everything came out of him not because he was expecting
something in return," said his daughter Vanessa. "He just wanted people
to be happy." 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

 

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