Afghan migrants given ‘parole’ status
Designation means they’re not eligible for public benefits
A Houston refugee agency estimates 1,500 to 2,500 Afghans will come to Houston over the next six to nine months through a discretionary humanitarian designation called “parole” and will not initially be eligible for public benefits.
Many parolees will be Afghans who were in the process of obtaining a Special Immigrant Visa but hadn’t completed the process, according to Ali Al Sudani, chief programs officer for Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. Special Immigrant Visas are for Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and their immediate family members, though the immigration process is notorious for long delays, sometimes lasting more than a decade.
The refugee agency is also expecting an additional number of Afghan Special Immigrant visa holders — aside from the parolees — in the next six to nine months but did not provide an estimate. Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston has resettled around 50 of these Afghan visa holders since mid-July.
Citing information shared by the U.S. State Department, Al Sudani said there are about 50,000 Afghan parolees expected to be coming to the United States who will first wait in third countries such as Germany and Qatar.
Unlike Special Immigrant Visa holders and refugees, these Afghans will not be eligible for public benefits until they adjust their immigration status, Al Sudani said.
“A parolee wouldn’t be eligible when it comes to public assistance, wouldn’t be eligible for food stamps, wouldn’t be eligible for Medicaid, wouldn’t be eligible for refugee cash assistance,” Al Sudani said.
He added that paroled Afghans with unfinished Special Immigrant Visa applications will likely go through an expedited asylum process once they have arrived in their final destination cities.
Al Sudani also said the families should have the opportunity to apply for work authorization prior to arriving in Houston or other resettlement cities.
Unlike refugees and Special Immigrant Visa holders, parolees will also not be eligible for certain services refugee resettlement agencies provide that are funded through the federal government. However, private donations can be used to support these families.
“I expect within the next six months, the biggest need is going to be monetary donations, because we don’t know yet the needs of these individuals. But we know one fact: they won’t be eligible for basic services, which is the food stamps and medical care,” Al Sudani said.
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston has an initial goal of raising $550,000 to meet the needs of incoming Afghans.
Houston’s four other refugee resettlement agencies are also accepting donations.
Afghans with pending visas will face “robust security processing” in third countries in Europe and Asia before they are brought to one of four U.S. military bases, according to a senior Biden administration official.
They’ll be subject to biometric and biographic security screenings by U.S. intelligence personnel, the senior official said.
The official called it an “adapted process” and said that only Afghans who pass the screening will then be brought to either Fort Bliss, Texas, Fort Dix, N.J., Fort Lee, Va., or Fort McCoy, Wis., where they will undergo full medical screenings and have access to health care services.
An estimated 18,000 Afghan SIV applicants and thousands more of their immediate family members have been in the process of securing visas that would allow them to live in the United States. Many are among the crowds of Afghans at the Kabul airport, desperate to board an evacuation flight for fear of the Taliban.
Historically, around 18 percent of Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan and Iraq are resettled in Texas, according to the South Texas Office for Refugees.