Page 15 - Special Immigrant News Today

The Biden administration’s first evacuation flight for Afghans who aided American and other coalition forces has arrived in the U.S., as the administration steps up efforts to relocate interpreters, other military assistants and their families ahead of a final troop withdrawal. The plane, carrying more than 200 people, landed at Fort Lee in Virginia, where passengers were to undergo health screenings and further processing of their Special Immigrant Visas. “Today is an important miles...

CNN Zalmay Niaz became an interpreter for the US Army and worked in other supporting roles for allied forces in Afghanistan more than a decade ago. By Omar Jimenez and Ashley Killough, CNN When Zalmay Niazy was a 9-year-old boy in Afghanistan, he said, he was playing with some friends one day when a group of Taliban rode into town and demanded that he bring them some bread — or else his family would be harmed. Terrified, he ran home, grabbed a piece of bread that was no larger than a cell pho...

Getting Afghan interpreters out of Afghanistan isnt progressive: Its the right thing to do Michael Wendt, opinion contributor © Getty Images Getting Afghan interpreters out of Afghanistan isnt progressive: Its the right thing to do For 20 years we have been locked into the quagmire that is the Afghan war. Throughout this time, we have relied on hundreds of local Afghan citizens as interpreters to augment our military power. During my service as a Marine sergeant, I had two co...

The U.S. military has already started conducting so-called over-the-horizon operations as it withdraws from Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday.

Austin Asks Top General For ‘Options’ to Evacuate Afghans Operation would need authorization from White House, which is not yet “actively pursuing” the idea. With time running out, the Pentagon is still developing plans to evacuate Afghans whose lives would be in danger from the Taliban after U.S. forces depart—but there’s still no order from the White House to move anyone, yet.  To prepare, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has tasked the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Fr...

Nearly 17,000 Afghan interpreters who risked their lives working for the US military are trying to leave the war-torn country ahead of President Biden’s September 11th deadline to withdraw remaining US forces from Afghanistan, but some may get left behind.

IRC looking for housing for family with 8 children under the age of 10 International Rescue Committee (Source: WVIR) By Riley Wyant | April 23, 2021 at 7:34 PM EDT - Updated April 23 at 7:34 PM CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The International Rescue Committee in Charlottesville is hard at work trying to find affordable housing for a family with eight children, all under the age of 10. The IRC is eager to find housing for this family that came over from Afghanistan on a Special Immigrant V...

Life Isnt a Sitcom—the Costs of Working with Americans in Afghanistan | Opinion Najeeb Aminyar and Noah Coburn On 4/20/21 at 7:00 AM EDT A new comedy on CBS follows Al, a translator for the Marines who flees Afghanistan because the Taliban are trying to kill him for working with Americans. While "Al" is fictional, he represents one of 18,000 Afghans who were granted Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) after becoming a target for their extensive service to the U.S. government. Af...

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 12:52 P.M. EDT   MS. PSAKI:  Hi everyone.  All right.  Okay, I have a couple of items for you — all of you at the top.  Today we are announcing the release of $39 billion of American Rescue Plan funds to states, territories, and Tribes to address the child care crisis caused by COVID-19.  These funds are a critical step to pave the way for a strong economic recovery and a more equitable future.    These funds will help early childhood educators and f...

Afghan Interpreters Risked Their Lives to Help the U.S. We Must Not Abandon Them Time 1 hr ago Kim Staffieri and Matt Zeller © Mikhail Galustov—The Washington Post/Getty Images Interpreters, from left, Afiqullah, Irshadullah and Said Hussein, all working for the U.S. army, meet in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Oct. 20, 2012. They applied for a U.S. visa through the Afghan SIV program. When America sent its sons and daughters off to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, it enlisted ...