SU expands suitability for Afghans and others seeking access on humanitarian grounds, #US #expands #powers #Aghans #searching #access #humanitarian #grounds Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
The Biden administration has quietly expanded the eligibility rules for immigrants seeking humanitarian access to the U.S. amid growing criticism over the rejection of thousands of applications from Afghans seeking refuge from the Taliban, shows internal government leadership and training materials obtained by CBS News.
The policy changes, which were implemented internally this spring, relate to a decades-old judicial authority called parole that allows U.S. immigration officials to authorize non-visa immigrants to enter the country if they have urgent humanitarian needs or if their arrival a “significant public benefit.”
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency that oversees the legal immigration system, typically receives about 2,000 parole requests from immigrants abroad each year. But the number of parole applications has increased dramatically after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Tens of thousands of Afghans, many of whom could not enter Kabul’s airport in time to be evacuated by the US last summer, have submitted parole applications. These include Afghans who have assisted US forces, their family members, former Afghan government officials, members of the long-persecuted Hazara ethnic group and others who believe they could face Taliban persecution.
Between July 2021 and earlier this month, USCIS received more than 46,000 parole applications from Afghans overseas. But as of June 2, it had reviewed less than 5,000 applications and rejected 93% of them, CBS News reported earlier this month. More than 40,000 parole requests from Afghans remain unresolved.
Multiple USCIS parole denials reviewed by CBS News said Afghan applicants had not shown that they were at risk of “serious targeted or individualized harm” or “imminent return to a country where the beneficiary would be harmed.”
The extremely high denial rate, and the massive backlog of unresolved issues, has provoked waning criticism from some Democratic lawmakers and refugee advocates, who have accused U.S. officials of relying on a narrow interpretation of parole authority to unfairly request desperate Afghans. refuse.
Advocates also cited the high denials associated with the Biden administration’s widespread use of parole authority to allow other populations, including Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s invasion of their homeland and more than 70,000 Afghans who managed to escape last year. to evacuate and relocate the US.
The internal USCIS guidance obtained by CBS News shows the agency has expanded its suitability for humanitarian parole to include those who can prove that they are a member of a “targeted group” that is “widespread, systematic or pervasive”. “have faced attacks. Members of a targeted group must face threats of “serious harm,” which could include physical or psychological injury or death, the leadership said.
Prior to the changes, applicants for humanitarian parole were instructed to submit third-party evidence that they specifically cited as targets of serious harm.
The revised guidance to USCIS assessors said that this evidence “remains the preferred evidence”, but extended other forms of “strong evidence” to include land condition reports showing the target of a group; prove that the applicant belongs to that group; and prove that potential persecutors are aware or likely to learn of the applicant’s membership in said group.
“Isolated incidents of harm to other group members will generally not be sufficient,” the leadership said.
For applications from individuals in third countries, the guidance instructs judges to consider an applicant’s lack of access to international protection programs; danger of facing serious suffering there; the possibility of their deportation to a place where they may be harmed; and their living conditions and legal status.
USCIS confirmed the policy changes in a statement to CBS News, saying it was the result of an internal agency review of the humanitarian parole process.
“USCIS has issued revised guidance to adjudicators on the type of evidence we consider relevant in evaluating parole requests based primarily on protection against individualized or targeted harm,” the agency said. “With the significant impact in new parole requests based primarily on protection needs following the Afghan humanitarian crisis, USCIS has decided that a review of our policies is appropriate.”
Children walk to temporary homes in a side street while Afghan refugees struggle to survive under difficult conditions in Islamabad, Pakistan, on May 29, 2022.
Muhammed Semih Ugurlu / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The policy changes implemented by USCIS could benefit some of the tens of thousands of Afghans who have pending parole cases, as well as future applicants. But immigration attorneys said the impact of the rules will depend on how the judges enforce them and whether they reduce the high denial rate.
“At face value, it sounds as if it could possibly be beneficial. We just have to see how it is actually implemented and judged, ”said Karlyn Kurichety, the legal director at Al Otro Lado, a California-based advocacy group that has submitted parole requests on behalf of Afghans.
In addition, USCIS outlined other reasons why it did not process most parole requests from Afghans and why the vast majority of cases were denied, including the argument that those seeking permanent settlement should use the U.S. refugee process, which could take years .
In a response earlier this month to concerns raised by the Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey in December 2021, DHS Assistant Secretary to Legislative Affairs Alice Lugo said a ninefold increase in parole requests had increased processing times by “a few months”.
“The most important limiting factor for timely adjudication of parole applications is that the volume of receipts significantly exceeds the available resources,” Lugo wrote in her June 14 letter, noting that USCIS has appointed 90 officers to review these matters.
Lugo also insisted that the “standard of proof for individuals requesting parole is the same regardless of the nationality or location of the beneficiary.” But she noted that many Afghan parole applicants are still in Afghanistan, where they are unable to undergo the required personal interviews with U.S. officials.
“However, because the US Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended operations, including all consular processing, USCIS is unable to complete the approval of a parole request while the beneficiary is in Afghanistan,” Lugo wrote in her letter, quoted by CBS News was obtained.
Refugee advocates urged USCIS to conduct or waive remote parole interviews for Afghans, as was done for displaced Ukrainians who were placed on parole in the U.S. under a private sponsorship program created in late April. They also called for a similar private sponsorship policy for Afghans.
Under the Uniting for Ukraine program, USCIS reviews sponsorship requests from US individuals to determine if they have the financial means to support displaced Ukrainians. Once these sponsorship offers have been approved and background checks have been completed, Ukrainians identified by US sponsors are allowed to travel to the US, where they are granted parole by officials at airports.
Humanitarian requests submitted by Afghans and others typically require $ 575 application fees, while sponsorship requests for the Uniting for Ukraine program are free. Unlike parole requests submitted by Afghans, Uniting for Ukraine cases are processed electronically within a matter of weeks or even days.
DHS denied using different standards for these populations, saying it was committed to helping both displaced Ukrainians and Afghans in danger. It also argued that Afghans are looking for permanent resettlement, while Ukrainians need a temporary safe haven.
But critics disagree. Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat, called the processing of Afghan parole requests “difficult and discriminatory.”
“Thousands of Afghans have been denied humanitarian parole, and only a few dozen have been approved,” Markey told CBS News. “It is a moral crisis. The American people are ready to welcome these families with open arms in our neighborhoods. ”
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