Afghans who have been within the strategy of looking for asylum in america have had their hopes repeatedly dashed below this Trump administration. Within the U.S., they stay in worry of ICE detention.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Afghans who have been within the course of to hunt asylum in america have had their hopes dashed repeatedly below this Trump administration. Now, after an Afghan migrant shot and killed one member of the Nationwide Guard right here in Washington, D.C., and critically wounded one other, their desires of reaching the U.S. appear even additional away. NPR’s Diaa Hadid studies from Mumbai.
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: Aly, an Afghan nationwide, lives in hiding in Pakistan.
ALY: I can say that in these months we acquired older greater than 10 or 20 years.
HADID: Like he and his spouse have aged 20 years. He asks we not use his full title. He is susceptible to deportation to Afghanistan, the place he fears he’ll be harmed or killed. He was a translator in Afghanistan from 2018 to 2021 and was within the pipeline to enter the U.S.
ALY: Doorways are closing day-to-day.
HADID: Even earlier than Afghan migrant Rahmanullah Lakanwal opened fireplace on members of the Nationwide Guard final Wednesday in Washington, the Trump administration had been ratcheting up the restrictions on Afghans coming into and staying in america. Quickly after President Trump started his second time period, he suspended the U.S. refugee program. That successfully suspended most Afghan migration to the U.S. For many Afghans, it hasn’t resumed, however those that fought alongside the U.S. and allied forces throughout America’s 20-year presence within the nation have been nonetheless allowed to enter after in depth vetting. Then, Wednesday’s assault occurred, and…
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SCOTT DETROW: The person accused of opening fireplace is Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He is 29. He is Afghan, and he labored with U.S. forces in Afghanistan earlier than coming to the U.S.
HADID: The Trump administration introduced all immigration requests from Afghan nationals could be halted indefinitely, pending a evaluation of vetting protocols. The administration introduced they’d reexamine each inexperienced card issued to, quote, “aliens of nations of concern.” They seem to incorporate Afghanistan. President Trump additionally lashed out at immigrants and refugees in a tirade on social media, saying that solely reverse migration would resolve the issues he claims they’ve wreaked on the nation.
ARASH AZIZZADA: That had made a whole lot of our neighborhood very nervous. Would they lose their standing? Would they need to reapply for asylum?
HADID: Arash Azizzada is co-director of Afghans for a Higher Tomorrow. He says Afghans he is talking to are afraid they will be detained whereas attending conferences concerning their immigration standing, and he accuses the Trump administration of breaking a promise that America had made to not abandon its Afghan allies.
AZIZZADA: And never solely has the U.S. betrayed it, it is vilifying and scapegoating a whole neighborhood due to the actions of 1 man who doesn’t symbolize us.
HADID: Again in Pakistan, Aly lives in worry. Pakistan was as soon as a spot the place Afghan migrants lived whereas ready on their asylum claims. However this yr, the U.N. says Pakistan has deported greater than 1.5 million Afghans, together with those that’ve been ready for his or her U.S. claims to be processed. So to remain protected whereas they await a change of coronary heart in Washington, Aly and his spouse have paid hundreds of {dollars} in bribes for uncommon visas. They keep dwelling through the day. They purchase meals at night time from street-side distributors so they do not entice consideration.
ALY: After we’re sleeping, we have now nightmares.
HADID: The issue, he says, is that nothing modifications when he wakes up.
Diaa Hadid, NPR Information, Mumbai.
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