The Brief

Tuesday marks two years since Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul was captured by the Taliban, effectively overthrowing the country’s U.S.-backed government.

Chaos engulfed the Kabul airport in the days that followed as people tried to leave. Eventually, about 80,000 Afghans were airlifted to the United States in what was then dubbed “Operation Allies Welcome,” including people who had assisted the U.S. government and military.

Many Afghans who arrived were resettled in Southern California, where local refugee agencies scrambled to connect them with affordable housing, supportive services, schools and work.

Two years later, Afghan families have been re-establishing their lives here. But much remains up in the air for them.

Families continue to be separated, with loved ones in Afghanistan who are unable to make it to the U.S. The two-year humanitarian parole that most were admitted to the U.S. with is running out; those who have yet to apply for asylum or other immigration relief must reapply for parole, or lose their ability to legally stay in the U.S.

Legislation that would provide Afghan refugees with a clear path to permanent legal status has yet to move forward. Meanwhile, many struggle with trauma and loss.

This week, LAist’s AirTalk host Larry Mantle spoke with several experts about the aftermath of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban, including local groups assisting Afghan refugees. He also shared a statement from a former Afghan pilot living in Orange County who remains separated from his family.

“I haven't seen my wife and four children since 2021,” wrote Ahmad, who was at a U.S. military training camp in Slovakia when the Taliban takeover occurred.

The pilots’ American hosts spirited them directly to the U.S. from there; Ahmad, who did not want his last name used for his family’s safety, told LAist last year that he was promised at the time that his family would be evacuated. But they’re still in Afghanistan.

“My sons ask me every time, when are you coming home?” Ahmad told AirTalk this week. “I don't have an answer for them.”

Ahmad, who has applied for asylum, said he hopes Congress will pass what is known as the Afghan Adjustment Act, a piece of legislation that would allow Afghan refugees who were paroled into the U.S. to obtain green cards. It would also let Afghan refugees sponsor their relatives to come here, although leaving Afghanistan remains complicated.

Many who arrived in the airlift remain in the U.S. on Temporary Protective Status, and others on humanitarian parole, said Jose Serrano, church and community engagement director for the Garden Grove office of World Relief, which works with refugees. In June, the U.S. allowed some Afghans to reapply for parole, which typically lasts just two years. Both allow them to remain in the U.S. legally and work here on a temporary basis, but neither leads to permanent status.

The lack of uncertainty is stressful, said Serrano, who has been helping Afghan refugees in Orange County apply for asylum, Special Immigrant Visas for those who aided the U.S., and other immigration relief.

“There is a constant stress and anxiety of not knowing what the future holds, especially as many feel the instability due to a lack of pathway towards residency,” Serrano told AirTalk. “So that's one challenge. The second challenge is related to just the finances — taking care of your home here and making sure that your loved ones back home in Afghanistan have food at the table so they can eat.”

AirTalk also spoke with Los Angeles attorney Wogai Mohmand, who in 2021 co-founded Project ANAR (Afghan Network for Advocacy and Resources) to provide immigration services and advocate for Afghan refugees.

Mohmand said she fears some of those who arrived in the airlift are falling through the cracks and not obtaining the help they need.

“They need to apply for re-parole, they need to apply for asylum, they need to apply for visas, and there are just too many people to help,” she said.

The airlift created a chaotic situation as Afghans brought into the U.S. were taken to military bases where they had to wait, sometimes for months, before being released and connected with resettlement agencies. Some people grew frustrated and left the camps on their own.

Afghan refugees line up for food at Fort Pickett in Virginia, one of several U.S. military bases where airlifted refugees were temporarily housed.

(

Rafi

)

“There are a large number of people that are difficult to reach,” Mohmand said. “Perhaps the resettlement agency couldn’t help them, or they’re being helped in some other way. And they’re not getting access to legal resources.”

She also cited a recent spike in Afghan arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of whom obtained visas to Brazil and traveled north.

The International Institute of Los Angeles, one of a handful of local resettlement agencies that has resettled more than 1,000 Afghans, told LAist in a statement that “one of the most critical needs for the new arrivals remains legal assistance, since there is still no clear path to permanent residency for many of Afghan arrivals.”

But there is good news: While housing affordability remains one of many struggles, the agency said, many of those they’ve resettled have by now found stable employment. And after a slow process, their asylum applications are moving forward.

"Recently, we started receiving a lot of positive news,” said Cynthia Hernandez, director of the International Institute’s Afghan Legal Representation Project. “Our clients' cases are getting approved.”