(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Our Afghan allies risked their lives supporting the U.S. We can't fail them now [1]

['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-03-10

The Afghans who resettled in the U.S. are our allies, people who worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan and their families, whose lives are in danger under the Taliban government. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to them for the ways they supported U.S. forces for almost 20 years, often at great personal risk.

U.S.-trained Afghan Air Force Col. Salim Faqiri, for example, flew American-made Black Hawk helicopters, and played a key part in helping transport elite special forces to trouble spots around the country. He and his team were still flying missions after U.S. forces retreated.

"The concern was not only to save the lives of his pilots, but to keep the Black Hawk helicopters and the only Afghans who knew how to fly them out of Taliban hands. For Faqiri, the decision to flee was jarring, after spending his adult life fighting. 'We did it for 20 years and in 24 hours everything's opposite and instead of helping to fight, everybody was getting out,' he says."

And last year, the Texas Tribune wrote about “Lucky,” a former Afghan translator who received a special visa after surviving numerous blasts while aiding the U.S. military. “I served with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and arrived in the United States on a Special Immigrant Visa in 2017. They call me Lucky because I’ve gotten blown up twice and I still have all my fingers and toes,” he said.

RELATED STORY: 'The American dream I am enjoying today': Former interpreter urges permanent relief for Afghans

The Afghan Adjustment Act will create a streamlined process, allowing displaced Afghans to apply for permanent legal residency. It improves the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process by broadening eligibility to include groups that worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan, and will also establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy for supporting Afghans outside of the United States.

Part of the reason Grassley's xenophobic nonsense was particularly insulting is because of what Afghans go through before they ever set foot on U.S. soil. Intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism agencies conduct multilayered screening and security vetting processes before they arrive in the U.S. and again once they arrive in America.

Under the Afghan Adjustment Act, a third screening is required before permanent status can be granted. If someone fails to pass a screening, that individual and their family will either be barred entry or subject to deportation from the U.S.

There is precedent for this legislation. National Immigration Forum details several instances where Congress passed similar legislation in the wake of other U.S.-involved conflicts and humanitarian crises, including the Cuban Revolution, America’s withdrawal from Vietnam, and both military actions in Iraq. "After these conflicts, Congress passed via legislation adjustment acts that granted Cubans, people from Southeast Asia, and Iraqis who had entered the U.S. as non-immigrants or parolees the opportunity to adjust to [lawful permanent resident] status," National Immigration Forum reported.

You shouldn't have to risk everything to have the opportunity to live and thrive in the U.S. The United States has the ability to help refugees excel in our communities, which in turn makes our communities stronger and more prosperous. Moreover, we still have a moral responsibility to help the Afghan people recover and adjust both domestically and abroad. Military withdrawal does not mean the U.S. can now disengage altogether. The mission is not complete.

Afghans are our neighbors, coworkers, teachers, and friends. They make invaluable contributions to our country and our communities, and are integral members of our society. No one should face the very real possibility of being torn away from everything they have built and everything they love, especially those who put themselves in harm's way on behalf of our mission.

The simple reality is that not taking care of our allies will likely hurt our ability to form similar relationships in the future. And without allies—interpreters, fixers, guides, and the like—our service members and diplomats will be more vulnerable. All of this is to say, we need the Afghan Adjustment Act.

I could continue because immigration is close to my heart (a story for another time), but you get the point. Sign and send a petition to Congress: We still need the Afghan Adjustment Act.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/3/10/2157192/-Our-Afghan-allies-risked-their-lives-supporting-the-U-S-We-can-t-fail-them-now

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.