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In the midst of the deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the Biden administration promised thousands of Afghan families that they would be kept together; however, after 9 months of waiting and uncertainty, it appears that this was an empty promise.
A Washington Post report revealed that the Democratic administration brought more than 76,000 Afghans to the United States and many of them still have immediate family members in their home country who are unable to escape.
Although the federal government has assured that one of its main priorities is to reunite these families, neither the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security nor the Pentagon have data on how many Afghans are in the country, how many are still waiting to be evacuated and how many are part of these separated families. According to the Post, “the figure could stretch into the tens of thousands.”
“The administration is “working on a solution” for allowing Afghans to “better notify” the State Department if they have immediate family members in need of relocation,” an agency spokesman told the Post under condition of anonymity.
Afghan refugees denounce empty promises
The Post report reveals stories of separated families still waiting to be reunited. These are mothers who made it to the United States with one or two children, but were forced to leave other children and their husbands behind in Afghanistan.
The Post tells the story of Parwin Husseini, who was pregnant at the time of the evacuation and recently gave birth, she asked the local resettlement agency how she could get the rest of her family out of Afghanistan.
“They said you have to wait until you get a green card,” she said, a status that immigration experts say could take years to get, as Husseini has yet to apply for asylum in the United States and doesn’t know how.
“Those separated from family during the evacuation also included some 1,400 Afghan children who eventually arrived to the United States without their parents. The Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for unaccompanied minors, said most have since been placed with “vetted family members and sponsors.” More than 200 remain in government custody or in foster care,” officials told the WP.
“n one case, an entire family found themselves inside the Kabul airport without their baby, after they handed him to a U.S. service member. The infant has since been located in Kabul. More than 200 remain in government custody or foster care,” officials told the WP.
“In one case, an entire family was found inside the Kabul airport without their baby after it was handed over to an American service member. The baby has since been located in Kabul. The rest of the family is now in Michigan,” the newspaper reports.
The only answer is “a list”
According to the Post, many separated Afghans and their lawyers report that every time they ask for help about reunification, the answer they get is that their “notification has been put on a list.”
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Sabrina Martín Rondon is a Venezuelan journalist. Her source is politics and economics. She is a specialist in corporate communications and is committed to the task of dismantling the supposed benefits of socialism // Sabrina Martín Rondon es periodista venezolana. Su fuente es la política y economía. Es especialista en comunicaciones corporativas y se ha comprometido con la tarea de desmontar las supuestas bondades del socialismo