While local organizations around Las Cruces have stepped up to support the Afghan refugees, many issues remain unsolved. Unemployment, immigration, and reuniting families have become challenging to overcome in this stage of the resettlement process.
Dina Khayal is the communications director for Lutheran Family Services of the Rocky Mountains, one of nine resettlement agencies across the country working with the Afghan refugees. Khayal said there is a cooperative agreement with the State Department providing resettlement services to individuals who are granted refugee status.
“We have been resettling them placing them into housing, and just providing case management services and job readiness training and things like that,” said Khayal.
Along with providing help for housing and employment, the resettlement agencies are there to help guide the asylees through the immigration system.
“For citizenship right now that's actually a difficult scenario. I know, we're working right now, with our legal services, trying to see where they will be as far as their immigration status, but that's really tricky, because there's no clear pathway to citizenship,” said Khayal.
According to Khayal, many are waiting for legislative action to address the issue.
While Operation Allies Welcome, does allow Afghans who worked with the United States Military to apply for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), there is no special path to citizenship. For refugees like Abdul Amir Qarizada that means he will have to wait to see his family.
“It's 15th August (2021), I was at the airport with our aircraft everything. The enemy was close to the capital. I tried to go into take my family with me, but my commander and my advisors did not let us to go outside to take our family because he said outside danger for you guys. I received a message from commander, he said you should start aircraft engine and fly to neighbor country north of Afghanistan,” said Amir.
Abdul Amir says he worked for the United States military during the war. For his wife and five children who are still stuck in Afghanistan, this fact may put them in danger.
“Our family is not safe in Afghanistan, especially my kids, wife, the neighbor, everybody knows my job in Afghanistan,” said Amir.
Dina Khayal said that right now, it may be a long time before refugees are reunited with their families.
“Like right now, nothing is clear as far as bringing the family members. The only thing would be is once they receive their citizen status, they can apply for reunification. But that's anywhere like five years from now,” said Khayal.
According to the United States State Department, “More than 40 percent of the Afghans who have come to the United States are eligible for SIVs because they worked for or on behalf of the U.S. Government in Afghanistan or our coalition partners, at significant risk to themselves, or they are the immediate family member of someone who did.” However, no clear solution has been presented to help the family members at significant risk that are still in Afghanistan.
Abdul Amir says he hopes his story can reach lawmakers in Washington.
“It's possible to pass my message to Congress. Right now, I came here, it’s been over seven months. For four or five months I have tried now, I don't have any talk with the lawyer,” said Amir.
While citizenship and reunification have been a major challenge, progress has been made for the Afghans in Las Cruces, according to Dina Khayal.
“We had to rely on temporary housing for a lot of folks where they were placed in hotels when they first arrived. But luckily, we were able to find landlords within the community that were willing to rent to a lot of our families,” said Khayal.
Abdul Amir says he appreciates how safe the United States is compared to Afghanistan.
“Here it's good. Everything in the US is good. Especially the security is good when you walk, you think I'm feeling safe. But in Afghanistan, it was not good. I'm the Army military when I go into town it was too dangerous.”
The refugees from Afghanistan have faced many challenges. While housing, safety, education, and many other needs are working to be met, the long road to reuniting families still has many unanswered questions.
