Refugees arrive at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after being evacuated from Kabul following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Back in November, two National Guard members were shot just blocks from the White House. One was killed. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who came to the US through a Biden-era humanitarian parole program and had applied for a special immigrant visa, which allows Afghans who worked with the US military to obtain a green card. In the shooting’s aftermath, President Donald Trump halted the visa program and called for a review of all Afghans who have come to the US.
Dozens of American organizations have formed in the past decade to help Afghans with the complicated visa application and resettlement process. Jeff Holder is a pastor with one of them, an organization called Tarjoman Relief made up of military and civilian volunteers.
“I had families that were so very close to getting their visa and being put on a plane when the new administration came in and everything stopped,” Holder says. “I know some of what we’re hearing in the news and from this present administration is: ‘They need to go back. They need to pack up. We didn’t ask them to come.’ But we did promise. We made a promise.”
On this week’s More To The Story, Holder talks with host Al Letson about the Afghan allies now in limbo, the extensive vetting process they undergo to come to the US, and what he sees as lies about America’s Afghan communities being told by people in power.
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