About 650 Afghans who fled when Taliban returned expected to settle in New York

An estimated 650 Afghans who fled their country when the Taliban returned to power last month could resettle in New York State through a rarely used "humanitarian parole" program that allows individuals to enter the country without visas on a temporary basis, state officials and aid groups told Newsday.

In addition, a yet undetermined number of Afghan refugees who previously worked for the U.S. armed forces during the war as translators or interpreters, and who have been granted special immigrant visas, will begin resettling across the state on a more permanent basis in the coming weeks, officials said.

It remains unclear how many Afghans will ultimately resettle on Long Island, although the region's high cost of housing generally makes relocation efforts difficult unless applicants are staying with family, said Carmen Maquilon, director of immigrant and refugee services for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The diocese has a post-resettlement contract with the state to assist Afghans arriving in the area.

In recent years, many Afghan refugees have found temporary homes in Albany, Rochester and Syracuse, where apartments are less expensive, although the Long Island communities of Hicksville, New Hyde Park, Bay Shore and Selden do have modest pockets of Afghans, Maquilon said.

"We should expect some [special immigrant visas] and some parolees," said Maquilon, who, to date, has worked with only one Long Island family evacuated from Afghanistan. "Are we going to be inundated with them? No, we are not because these communities are not that big. So they most likely are going to follow those communities where they already know someone."

Humanitarian relief

The Biden administration is working with more than 200 refugee aid organizations nationwide, including dozens across the state, to prepare to resettle as many as 50,000 Afghans evacuated in late August amid the evacuation of U.S. troops and the Taliban's swift return to power.

The majority of Afghans arriving in New York, officials said, will be humanitarian parolees, a stopgap status granted by the Department of Homeland Security that applies to individuals facing imminent threats to their safety who would be otherwise ineligible for entry into the country, but who are admitted for a temporary period, generally one year. They could include female leaders, journalists, activists, judges and those with special immigrant visa applications that have yet to be fully adjudicated.

Humanitarian parolees must either leave the country at the end of their parole period or regularize their immigration status and seek permanent status by applying for a visa, seeking asylum or obtaining citizenship, experts said. Applicants must have a sponsor who will guarantee their financial support or be able to demonstrate the ability to financially support themselves, officials said.

Before their arrival, all evacuated Afghans will undergo security screenings and background checks overseas to determine if they qualify for refugee status, administration officials told reporters last month. Once they arrive in the United States, Afghans are relocated to military bases in New Jersey, Virginia, Texas and Wisconsin where they undergo medical tests, including COVID-19 screenings, while caseworkers assist them with travel and temporary housing arrangements.

Individuals granted parole by the federal government are then connected with a local refugee resettlement organization that will help them secure housing, food, transportation, school registration for children and language services, Maquilon said. The government provides refugees $1,125 to carry the client over during the first 30 days in the country — an amount that is matched by the resettlement agency.

Welcoming new arrivals

In New York, multiple organizations based in the New York City area, including the International Rescue Committee and Catholic Charities Community Services, have contracts to manage refugees' initial 30 days of resettlement.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Maquilon said, will step in at the end of the first month, continuing with the community orientation process for Long Island evacuees, acting as interpreters, providing rental assistance and helping clients find employment.

"We help them on the road to self sufficiency," Maquilon said.

Shgoofa Rahmani, a case manager for Women for Afghan Women, said volunteers from the Fresh Meadows-based nonprofit will be providing translation and cultural services — from Halal food items to scarves for women to cover their heads — for new arrivals. The group has also purchased clothing, snacks and feminine hygiene products for arriving refugees.

To date, no planes with Afghan refugees have arrived at Kennedy Airport, although Rahmani has been told that flights could include 10 to 300 people.

"These families have already been through so much trauma since they left Afghanistan," Rahmani said. "We want to make sure in the warmest way that they are welcome here and that they see someone from their country who has a smile on their face to welcome them because this is going to be their first time stepping foot in the United States."

Meanwhile, some Long Island community and religious organizations are raising money and collecting items, including clothes, shoes and backpacks for Afghan refugees once they arrive in the region.

"If we find out tomorrow that a group is coming in 10 hours, we want to be prepared about what needs to be done," said Isma Chaudhry, chairwoman of the Islamic Center of Long Island, which has launched an interfaith campaign in Westbury to provide support for Afghan refugees.

'A beacon of hope'

An estimated 650 humanitarian parolees will probably be relocated to New York, but to date only a handful have arrived in the state and none have been documented yet on Long Island, according to the State's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. But an OTDA official, speaking on background, said there are often reporting delays with documenting special immigrant visa and humanitarian parolee arrivals.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state previously committed to resettling up to 1,320 refugees and SIV holders in fiscal 2021, a period which began in July and ends next June. In fiscal 2020, 195 Afghans with SIV status were assisted by state refugee providers, state officials said.

"New York is stepping up to once again serve as a beacon of hope and refuge," Hochul said in a statement last month welcoming Afghan refugees fleeing from the violence. "The richness of culture and community that refugees and immigrants bring to our state is beyond measure, and the message to the world in no uncertain terms is that our state is committed to helping those who seek shelter on our shores."

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said his office helped evacuate 35 Afghans, including a Plainview family of five who arrived last week, two families from Queens and several others who live outside of the district.

"It's been a really gratifying success," said Suozzi, adding that some families are scheduled to arrive in New York in the coming weeks. "We have an obligation and a duty to the American citizens and special immigrant visa recipients who earned their status through their service."

Not among those evacuated were the family of Latifa Woodhouse of Great Neck. Woodhouse, an activist who grew up in Kandahar, had been working with Suozzi's office to evacuate her brother, who worked from 2003 to 2006 as a translator for the U.S. government, and his six children, ages 2 to 14.

Despite her best efforts, Woodhouse said it was too dangerous for her family to travel from Kandahar to the Kabul airport.

"My brother is right now in great danger but there is no way he can come out because of the Taliban checkpoints," Woodhouse said. "They will shoot him in cold blood. We do not want him to take this chance. We are hoping that maybe in few months or a year … things get a bit calmer and he will get out."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.