The scenes from Afghanistan in the past few days are too familiar to many people in the Asian American community. Many people noticed the striking resemblance to the image of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Then, as it is now, American nations have a responsibility to help frightened and vulnerable civilians who are trying to evacuate to protect themselves and their families. Time for debate about war and its effects will continue, but now the priority must be to protect those at risk and provide them with shelter.
When the United States left Vietnam in 1975, as part of the withdrawal process, more than 130,000 civilians and refugees were evacuated, albeit by so-called “rogue” civilian and military personnel. Currently, according to the special visa program for Afghan citizens, less than 2,000 of the 20,000 applicants have been evacuated. Many more people have not yet had the opportunity to apply and are still looking for a way out. The first task of evacuation should be the most dangerous members of Afghan society, such as the Taliban, LGBTQ communities, disabled communities, interpreters, and others who support the United States in Afghanistan.
JACL has long supported the immigration of refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Four different governments were in power during the Afghanistan War, and it is now up to the current government and Congress to ensure that the Afghan allies who supported us throughout the conflict will not be abandoned. We call on the Biden administration and Congress to accept as many refugees as possible; by expanding the resettlement quota, increasing the number of special immigrant visas and priority 2 refugees, and designating Afghanistan as a temporary protection status. It should also ensure that adequate transportation stops are provided for refugees seeking to leave the country.
The United States should ensure that adequate assistance is provided in areas such as housing, health care, and other basic necessities, and that these immigrant communities will not be deported like many other post-war immigrant communities. We still see the struggles of Vietnamese, Hmong, and Cambodian refugees who arrived after the Vietnam War. They are now at risk of being deported and are imprisoned at a higher rate than many other Asian American communities. We cannot allow any new refugees to suffer the same fate in the future.
