The legal limbo for Afghan evacuees

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2021

⏱️ ? minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For many Afghan evacuees arriving in the United States, escaping the Taliban was just the beginning. Now, they face the uncertainty of a tenuous legal status with little financial support unless Congress acts.

The Biden administration is preparing to screen and resettle tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees in the United States over the coming months, but the majority will arrive without visas as “humanitarian parolees,” not refugees. Reporter Nick Miroff explains what this means.

Volunteers are working to help the thousands of Afghan refugees who are starting new lives in the United States, but the transition is still a difficult one. Jorge Ribas has been interviewing Afghan evacuees who have recently arrived in the country. You can see more of his reporting here.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If you need the news, but also need to feel smarter and calmer, then you need to get
0:06.0	an Andy Slavitts bubble.
0:08.2	Andy is a former White House advisor and the ultimate outsiders insider.
0:13.2	Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Andy offers his access to leading experts.
0:18.7	Join Andy for discussions on COVID, gun violence, climate change, and more.
0:23.9	In the bubble with Andy Slavitt is available wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.8	We spent a lot of time back in Washington talking about numbers, the total number of evacuees,
0:36.5	American citizens, and so forth.
0:39.2	This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Doha, where many Afghan evacuees
0:44.8	are waiting to be vetted before coming to the U.S.
0:48.0	Now, behind each of these numbers is a real person, is a mother, a father, a sister, a
0:55.3	brother, a son, a daughter.
0:57.2	People like Mersal, who is in the U.S. now, but still feeling like the future is a big
1:02.5	question mark.
1:03.6	I know it's really difficult to start a life from the beginning.
1:10.8	From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports.
1:14.3	I'm Martin Powers.
1:16.3	It's Wednesday, September 8.
1:18.9	There are still people, including U.S. citizens, who are waiting to evacuate Afghanistan.
1:24.8	Secretary Blinken says the U.S. is working to get them out.
1:28.8	We're holding the Taliban to the commitments that they've made to ensure the free passage
1:33.0	and safe travel for anyone.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.