A recent public opinion survey found that 84% of Americans support Afghan interpreters who admit to assisting American troops in entering the United States.
The poll asked 1,000 American citizens whether the United States should grant special refugee status to Afghans working as translators in Afghanistan. American armies And the immediate family members of the translator. Among the interviewees, 843 people said “yes”, 101 people said “no”, and 56 people were undecided.
The poll was jointly organized by Suffolk University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, and USA TodayThe margin of error in the polls is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
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A closer look at the poll data found that Democratic Party And independent people are only slightly higher than Republicans Support the migration of Afghan translators to the United States. Although 294 self-proclaimed Democrats and 298 self-proclaimed independents supported the measure, 241 self-proclaimed Republicans also supported the measure.
The findings of the investigation contradict the concerns of right-wing media figures about the “invasion” of Afghan refugees in the United States. Fox News host Tucker Carlson expressed a sentiment last week And others. Carlson has said that resettlement of Afghan refugees to the United States will increase the country’s crime rate, increase local rents and increase the number of Democratic voters.
Democratic president Joe Biden It was widely criticized for failing to prioritize the withdrawal of Afghan translators by the August 31 withdrawal deadline. The withdrawal marks the end of the 20-year presence of the United States in the region.The withdrawal also coincides with Islamic radicals Taliban The army regained control of the country.
Earlier this month, the Taliban stated that Afghans assisting the US military need not worry about their lives.
“[Such Afghans] A Taliban statement read: “They should regret their past actions and must not engage in such acts equivalent to treason against Islam and the country in the future.” The statement called on Afghans who assisted the US military to “return to normal life”. Added, “If they have expertise in any field, [they should] Serve their country. For us, they will not be in any danger. “
However, according to No One Left behind, an Afghan and Iraqi interpreting organization led by veterans, since 2014, the Taliban have killed at least 300 Afghans who were interpreters for the US military.
Democratic president Joe Biden A commitment has been made to provide special immigrant visas to help resettle thousands of Afghan interpreters and translators. While the visa application is being processed, some people have been moved out of the country and are in an undisclosed location.
August 16, Biden Commitment of up to 500 million U.S. dollars From the US Emergency Refugee and Immigration Assistance Fund to help refugees fleeing Afghanistan.
Biden’s order stated that the funds were intended to “meet the unexpected emergency refugee and immigration needs of refugees, conflict victims and others at risk due to the situation in Afghanistan”.
Weekly newspaper Contact the White House for comments.
