The Guardian 8/17/2021
• US attempting to evacuate special immigration visa applicants
• Bush and Trump call for US to helped war effort
Joe Biden has authorized up to $500m from an emergency fund to meet “unexpected urgent” refugee needs stemming from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, including for Afghan special immigration visa (SIV) applicants, the White House said.
The US is preparing to begin evacuating thousands of Afghan SIV applicants who risk retaliation from Taliban militants who have taken over the country, because they worked for the US government.
Senators call on Biden to evacuate leading Afghan women – live
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Amid huge controversy over Biden’s handling of the withdrawal and the issue of evacuating Afghans at risk, some on the right have sought to use the refugee issue as a means of attack.
Steven Miller, a far-right immigration hardliner formerly a senior aide to President Donald Trump, has attempted to lead the charge. On Monday, however, Trump himself interrupted a blizzard of attacks on Biden to say Afghans who assisted the US “should be allowed to seek refuge”.
The White House said the new funds, released under the 1962 Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, would help meet “unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs” for “persons at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan”.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/17/afghan-refugees-fund-joe-biden-sets-up
