The Biden administration "moved slowly for months to address the plight of vulnerable Afghans who had worked for the United States even as a deadline for U.S. military withdrawal loomed," a team at The Washington Post reports.
Throughout the withdrawal, "the administration expressed nominal support for the [Special Immigrant Visa] program" while citing bureaucratic hurdles for the lack of decisive action, Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Michigan) told the Post.
"There was a very proactive campaign from outside groups trying to help, and we were stiff-armed," added James Miervaldis, chairman of the nonprofit No One Left Behind, which helps wartime allies with the visa process. "All we asked for was a plan. Whatever they wanted to do, we were standing by to support. But then they didn’t do anything."
Here are some more reads to contextualize the current situation:
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The question of resettling Afghan allies has divided the GOP, "pitting immigration restrictionists against those who view the resettlement of individuals and families in the U.S. as a moral charge." (Marc Caputo, Politico)
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At the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Pakistan has fenced off Afghan refugees, with the government saying it "has reached its limit and cannot accept more people from the war-torn country, despite pleas from the UN refugees’ agency." (Sarah Atiq, BBC News)
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The plight of Afghan interpreters, in their own words. (Monica Campbell, PRI’s The World)
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As Afghans are resettled across the U.S., resettlement groups are seeking volunteers and donations. NPR lists some nationwide opportunities, and if you’re in the D.C. or Maryland area, the Baltimore Sun shared some ways to help refugees being resettled locally.
As Forum Senior Fellow Linda Chavez writes an op-ed for The xxxxxx: "We are the most powerful nation on the face of the earth. Can we really do nothing to evacuate those who stood with us for twenty years?"
Welcome to Thursday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. We’re pausing the Notes on Fridays this month, so we’ll be back Monday. I’m Joanna Taylor, communications manager at the Forum, filling in for Ali today. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
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WELCOMING STATES — As some GOP lawmakers continue to politicize refugee resettlement, some Republican governors have joined their Democratic counterparts in sounding a welcoming tone, Dareh Gregorian reports for NBC News. "Utah was settled by refugees fleeing religious persecution. We understand the pain caused by forced migration and appreciate the contributions of refugees in our communities," Gov. Spencer Cox (R) tweeted late Tuesday alongside a letter to Biden offering to assist with Afghan refugee resettlement. Seven other Republican governors and five Democrats have pledged similar support, writes Business Insider’s Grace Panetta. The Pentagon also confirmed Wednesday that as many as 22,000 Afghan refugees will be temporarily housed at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, A. J. Bayatpour reports for WKOW News.
FAITH RESPONSE — Faith-based refugee aid groups have criticized the Biden administration for its lack of planning to evacuate Afghan allies swiftly and safely, report Emily McFarlan Miller and Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service. "We’ve been screaming from the rooftops for months now that we need to get these allies to Guam or
another U.S. territory," said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. In a follow-up, Jenkins and Miller report on faith groups’ continuing pressure to assist vulnerable Afghans. Meanwhile, evangelical resettlement agency World Relief’s regional offices are preparing to welcome Afghan families. In Durham, N.C., for example, Adam Clark of World Relief told ABC11’s DeJuan Hoggard that because the area is home to
many Afghan North Carolinians, the situation has been very personal to the community — and they’re ready to step up and demonstrate welcome. "We can’t accelerate the rate at which people are brought here," Clark said. "We can just prepare. And
we're excited!"
DIVERSITY VISAS — A federal judge has ordered the State Department to issue 9,095 additional diversity visas after ruling "that the department illegally used Trump-era restrictions to stop processing visas for winners of the 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery," Law360 reports. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s visa ban, which Biden lifted in February, did not prevent the State Department from processing or
issuing visas. Regardless, this ruling is just one step for visa winners: "The State Department doesn't make getting a diversity visa simple — there are requirements after requirements, medical exams and of course the fees," said Curtis Morrison, an attorney for the diversity visa winners. Morrison also noted that the
winners include 900 applicants from Afghanistan: "For these families, this win is good, but for them, they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel."
‘GAME CHANGER’ — The Biden administration announced a plan Wednesday to overhaul the U.S. asylum system, Ted Hesson reports for Reuters. The proposed changes, which include doubling the number of asylum officers to expedite processing at the U.S.-Mexico border and allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services more authority to bypass backlogged immigration courts, "will significantly improve DHS’s and DOJ’s ability to more promptly and efficiently consider the asylum claims of individuals encountered at or near the border, while ensuring fundamental fairness," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. Formal publication of the rule on Friday will kick
off a 60-day public comment period. Our take: If enacted, the rule would help address increases in migration at our southern border and lessen the burden on our overwhelmed immigration courts. For more, read Migration Policy Institute Senior Fellow (and former Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner) Doris Meissner on how this new asylum rule could be a "game changer."
Have a safe and restful weekend,
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