Biden administration calls for new law to ease the way for Afghan refugees to green cards

The White House included the proposal in a funding request sent to Congress on Tuesday, asking lawmakers to provide $6.4 billion for the Afghan refugee resettlement effort. That money will fund operations at US military bases where refugees are being held and processed, as well as resettlement benefits for Afghans after their arrival in the US and speed up the process of their immigration paperwork.

The requested legal reform, which would allow all Afghan refugees brought into the US to apply for green cards after one year, would provide a solution to the legal crisis created by the Biden administration when it began bringing thousands of Afghans into the country. Permanent immigration status.

The administration has said that only a small proportion of those entering the US are eligible through the special immigrant visa program, which is aimed at Afghan interpreters, drivers, embassy staff and others who have traveled with their family members. Has worked directly for the US military and US contractors. Those Afghans are considered particularly at risk after the Taliban broke into Kabul in August and gained control of Afghanistan.

“We have given people the assurances backed by the US government that we will protect people and their families if they help us in specific ways,” said Christy De Pea, director of immigration policy at the Nisken Center, a liberal Washington think tank. If we don’t follow through on that commitment, we’re going to see both short-term and long-term implications for national security.”

While Republicans have been broadly supportive of Afghans working for America, a proposal to grant green cards to a broader group of evacuees has prompted fresh criticism from some GOP lawmakers who are already in the aftermath of President Biden’s war. Tired of dealing with it.

“Joe Biden left behind thousands of people in Afghanistan who already have US citizenship, green cards or pending visas, but now he wants to give unlimited green cards to those who did not serve with our troops and Which could also put our safety and health at risk—exempting everyone from the normal refugee screening process,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), a veteran whose office said he evacuated hundreds of Afghans. has helped. “This proposal is another chapter in Biden’s rolling fiasco. Afghanistan policy.”

The State Department acknowledged last week that although the evacuation was intended to give priority to Afghan special immigrant visa applicants, most of them were left behind in a chaotic and hasty operation.

Administration officials estimate that at least 65,000 Afghans will reach the US by the end of September, and another 30,000 will be familiar with the matter next year. An administration official said the majority of the evacuated population assisted the US in some capacity, even if they did not qualify for special immigrant visas, or were family members.

Without changes to the law, Afghans entering outside the formal SIV program would need to apply for asylum or any other permanent immigration status, such as a green card through a US citizen family member.

Obtaining a green card requires extensive background checks, submission of fingerprints and other biometric information, and medical examinations. Generally, immigrants are barred from obtaining a green card if they have committed a number of crimes, including using illegal drugs, although the Biden administration may extend some of those disqualifications to “maintain family unity” in individual cases. Offering to forgive.

Still, some Republicans are concerned that the Biden administration’s program will benefit Afghans whom Congress never intended to help when it created a special immigrant visa program for Afghans in 2009.

Sen. Rob Portman said, “I support the resettlement of our Afghan colleagues who stood by us during our operations in Afghanistan, although it is becoming increasingly clear that many of those who are being processed Most are Afghan evacuees without a record to support our efforts.” R., Ohio), the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Creating a new route for Afghans could also put a new burden on an immigration system that has been plagued by years of backlogs and underfunding. It can also draw resources from other immigration programs. As part of its funding request, the administration sought $193 million to hire additional staff at US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the green card issuing agency.

Already, immigration-advocacy organizations are trying to connect every Afghan temporarily held at US military bases with a lawyer who can assist them with the immigration process.

Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have expressed dismay with the administration, saying they cannot get answers to specific questions about how many Afghans the US is helping now, which is exactly what America was doing during the two-decade war. was serving with.

In a press conference last Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Meyerkas called the evacuated population “special immigrant visa holders, individuals who have assisted the United States in Afghanistan, and all other vulnerable Afghans, such as journalists and vulnerable women.” and girls.”