In 2022, Malalai was running for her life, frantically texting me. As a highly educated Afghan prosecutor, she took Taliban leaders, facilitators and bomb makers off the battlefield and put them behind bars. This reduced risks to U.S. forces but increased the threat to her life. After the Taliban’s return to power, those prisoners were released and had ed her saying they were coming after her. They had gotten to her husband already. Fortunately, he had escaped. Her family’s only hope was that Americans would honor their promise to those who stood shoulder to shoulder with them.
Today, she and her family are settled in the U.S. She works in a district attorney’s office, still helping to put bad people away. She speaks English, pays taxes and pays her own way. Malalai’s family arrived in the U.S. only after arrangements were ready for their settlement and only after she and her entire family underwent security vetting. She did not arrive or cross any border unannounced, uninvited or illegally.
Malalai and the controlled process by which she arrived does not align with what many Americans picture when they hear the word “refugee.” Yet the U.S. Refugee issions Program is exactly the legal mechanism that allows America to fulfill its promise to her and other wartime allies.
In these times of deep national division, there is one issue that unites us: Keeping the sacred promise to our wartime allies. According to polling by With Honor, 75% of Trump voters and 90% of all Americans this mission. It’s easy to see why. It’s morally right, but it is also a matter of national security. Failure to honor our promises to wartime allies decreases the likelihood of finding partners in the next war.
Our immigration system is complex and often counterintuitive. Many Americans have heard of the Special Immigrant Visa and think that is synonymous with Afghan allies. Yet because of legal nuances, many are not eligible for this visa, including people like Malalai. Refugee processing, while not fitting the stereotypical image many people have, is a crucial legal pathway for saving wartime allies. Malalai’s case was processed under a section of the Refugee issions Program that specifically allows entry for Afghan allies who have their for our war effort verified and who undergo comprehensive security vetting.
President Trump and his ers often emphasize that they are not opposed to immigration, only to illegal immigration. Malalai’s path to the U.S. — technically a refugee pathway — is exactly the kind of vetted and legal immigration that they are referring to. Many may not recognize it as such due to the name of the program and the often inaccurate image that the name evokes.
There are many more wartime allies still awaiting processing. The security vetting takes time and should not be rushed. The incoming istration has the opportunity to finish the mission properly, but only if it doesn’t inadvertently destroy the legal pathway for allies with overly broad measures.
It is vital not to rush immigration reforms with blanket bans on refugee processing, or by reducing, even temporarily, refugee ission numbers without first considering the impact on Afghan allies. Our allies, despite the ongoing threat to their lives, are waiting their turn in this vetted and legal immigration path. Delays are deadly. The Taliban continues to hunt and execute our allies.
Reforms to our refugee system must ensure our Afghan allies can still access this legal immigration path. The vetting and processing must continue, and once settlement preparations are completed, we must continue to it these verified allies into the U.S. via this refugee program along with Special Immigrant Visa applicants.
What can Americans do? They can elected officials and insist that any refugee reforms safeguard the processing of Afghan allies. They can demand that the State Department sections that are processing them keep their funding. They can share this article to raise awareness of the critical role that refugee processing plays for allies like Malalai. Only then will we have kept our promise to those who risked their lives for us.
Seddon, a communications team member of the #AfghanEvac Coalition and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, lives in Santee. Editor’s note: Malalai’s name was changed to protect the safety of her extended family still in Afghanistan.
