Why is Abbott silent on welcoming Afghans?
While governors across the country are publicly announcing their support for receiving Afghan refugees, Special Immigrant Visa holders and applicants in their home state, one official who has been silent on the matter is Gov. Greg Abbott. It is uncharacteristic of Abbott to be so mum on the issue, since just a year and a half ago, he rushed to make Texas the first state to opt out of the federal refugee resettlement program. Now, as the first 300 Afghan refugees escape the chaos of their home country and arrive in the Lone Star State, Abbott must stand on the right side of history and proclaim that these Afghans are welcome.
Refugee resettlement is not a partisan issue. Last year, when Abbott made the heartless decision to turn the world’s most vulnerable away, over 40 governors of both parties had already expressed their support for them. Abbott defended his policy by claiming that Texas already had to deal with undocumented migrants crossing the state’s southern border and urged resettlement agencies to instead focus on refugees who had already resettled there. Unsurprisingly, refugee advocacy groups condemned the move — and the order was struck down by the courts.
The current crisis in Afghanistan is a prime opportunity for Abbott to redeem himself. Americans across party lines want to speed up the process to provide Afghan allies with immigrant visas to come to the U.S. As many veterans have noted in the past few weeks, while the war in Afghanistan did not end as peacefully as we hoped it would, it does not discredit the fact that many Afghans risked their lives to support U.S. troops and have endured much hardship and sacrifice during the U.S. invasion of their country for the past 20 years. We have a responsibility to help these people.
And now, with the Taliban takeover, nearly 400,000 Afghans have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the year. This is in addition to the 2.9 million Afghans who already have been displaced across the country. We have read harrowing stories and witnessed the disturbing images of Afghans losing their lives as they attempt to flee their home country. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has called the situation a “humanitarian emergency.” They are especially concerned about the women and girls fleeing the Taliban’s harsh rule, which previously deprived them of basic human rights such as attending school.
Texans, like Americans across the country, understand the dire situation and are eager to welcome Afghan refugees to their state. Even during the middle of a global pandemic, they are signing up in record numbers for refugee volunteer trainings. (One recent session had to be moved online because over 200 people had signed up). They are offering their homes, spare rooms, cash and in-kind donations, translation services and more. Texans want to help because they know it is the moral and patriotic thing to do.
Isn’t it time for Gov. Abbott to do the same?