Welcome to Episode 25 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, where hosts Mikael Cook and Beth Bailey highlight the struggles of Afghans living under Taliban rule, and the efforts of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations who have stepped up to provide support to the people of Afghanistan in the chaos that followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In continuing our series exploring the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, we brought on Jill Marie Bussey, the Director for Public Policy at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Jill Marie told us about her work to spin up evacuation resources for Afghans who needed to leave the country as the U.S. prepared for its Afghanistan withdrawal. She discussed visiting the first wave of special immigrant visa applicants who arrived at Ft. Lee in early August 2021, and the combined joy of meeting our allies and the difficulty of letting them know that they would have to enter the country on parole, and would be hard-pressed to reunite with their families in the years to come. Jill Marie also spoke about her efforts during the withdrawal to aid Afghans through the informal networks that were created to help Afghans reach Hamid Karzai International Airport and find their way on the evacuation flights helping Afghans and other vulnerable groups reach safety after the Taliban took hold of the country.

Our conversation also dealt with the intricacies of the parole designations that have been granted to our Afghan allies, the immigration backlogs they face, and the difficulties they have navigating our asylum system without legal assistance. Jill Marie talked about the latest re-parole guidelines for those whose two years of parole are quickly coming to an end, and mentioned the difference between the asylum that Afghans who arrived during Operation Allies Welcome received, and the asylum being granted to Afghans who came to the U.S. through the southern border as an effort to find safety more quickly than they were likely to achieve it through the SIV program, humanitarian parole, or the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

More about Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and the re-parole process:

LIRS’s website can be found here

Information on:

Re-Parole Process for Certain Afghans

Afghan Re-Parole FAQs

Form I-797C, Notice of Action

Employment Authorization Guide

About the hosts:

Mikael Cook was an Army non-commissioned officer and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He was an active member of the #DigitalDunkirk movement to evacuate our Afghan allies in August of 2021. You can follow his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram @BWBailey85 or Twitter @BWBailey85.

For listeners in Afghanistan:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.