PHOENIX — At the Arizona Refugee Center in Phoenix, English classes take place next to stacks of open immigration cases, visual proof of the uncertainty now hanging over thousands of Afghan families in Arizona.
Many of the center’s clients arrived under Operation Allies Welcome following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. For years, they were working toward permanent legal status in the United States.
Now, that process is on hold.
“They want a permanent home in the United States,” said Julianna Larsen with the Arizona Refugee Center. “What this has done for the Afghan community in Arizona is cause more fear and panic.”
Afghan asylum and visa cases were paused by the Trump administration following the killing of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C. Authorities say the attack was allegedly carried out by an Afghan national.
That development has rippled through refugee communities nationwide and especially in Arizona.
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“I am not a terrorist. He is a terrorist, he is not my brother, he is not my people,” said Mirwais Dudzai, an Afghan who has received asylum in the U.S. “It is his problem.”
One of those now stuck in legal limbo is a former Afghan helicopter pilot. He asked to be named “Ozzy” to protect his identity.
“I was an Air Force pilot in Afghanistan. So that’s why I don’t want to show my face, my family is living back in Afghanistan,”
He says he flew combat missions alongside U.S. forces and frequently came under Taliban fire.
“I was in danger, not just me, my whole squadron,” he said.
Ozzy escaped during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal and was later granted asylum. But now his green card application is paused.
Some Arizona Republicans argue the pause is necessary for public safety.
“Every one of the seventy thousand so-called refugees needs to be relocated and properly re-vetted,” said John Kavanagh, a Republican representing Legislative District 3.
Kavanagh previously raised concerns about the vetting process that those who made it to the U.S. received.
“The actions of one person were a wake-up call that we need to be more vigilant to protect Americans,” Kavanagh said.
But refugees and advocates say they are being unfairly judged by the actions of a single person.
“What this has done here to the Afghan community is cause more fear and panic,” Larsen said.
The pause applies not only to Afghans but to all pending U.S. asylum claims, regardless of country of origin. There is no clear timeline for when the hold could be lifted or what new vetting requirements might look like.
