Vast majority of Afghans turned away by US entry program

The administration of President Joe Biden has denied nearly 85 percent of the applications it has processed from Afghans who want to enter the US through a program which allows for temporarily waiving immigration requirements.

A new report by The Hill shows the administration has only processed around 2,600 applications from those Afghans who seek to come to the US through the humanitarian parole process. And 2,250 of those applicants have been denied.

Immigrant advocates argue the Biden administration has failed to honor its pledge to assist Afghans who were left behind after the US military’s hasty pullout from the war-torn country in August following a swift takeover by the Taliban.

The latest figures put into question the administration’s ability to process applications from some 45,000 Afghans now scattershot across the world, as well as the possibility that their applications will be granted.

Although 76,000 Afghans entered the US following its troops’ withdrawal, those who left through private charters remain abroad.

Additionally, over an estimated 100,000 made vulnerable because of their ties to the US are still in Afghanistan and have limited options for entering the US.

By February, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had processed fewer than 2,000 of the applications of the more than 43,000 submitted since July 1.

The applications of 1,500 Afghans were denied, while just 170 had been given the green light to come to the US. The new figures indicate 340 have now been granted conditional approval to come to the United States.

US denies humanitarian entry to hundreds of fleeing Afghans

US immigration officials deny entry to hundreds of Afghans seeking temporary stay in the country for humanitarian reasons in recent weekss.

Immigrant advocates in the US began filing humanitarian parole applications for Afghans in August in a last-ditch effort to get them on American evacuation flights out of the country before the withdrawal.

By November, however, the agency had posted a list of narrow criteria for Afghan applicants and held a webinar telling attorneys that parole is typically granted only if there's evidence someone faces "imminent severe harm."

The new data shows that the majority of Afghans whose humanitarian parole applications have been reviewed are being denied.

“The administration should immediately create a functioning Afghan parole program, a lifeline for Afghans whom we have left behind. The United States has demonstrated that we have the capacity to implement novel and innovative solutions for vulnerable populations in need of protection. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home,” Meredith Owen, director of policy and advocacy at Church World Service, a refugee resettlement agency, told The Hill.

“Particularly in light of the Uniting for Ukraine announcement, it is imperative the administration do everything in its power to welcome at-risk Afghans,” she continued, pointing to a new humanitarian parole program created by the administration specifically for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

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