US immigration advocates urge swift evacuation of Afghans

Biden administration says it is committed to evacuating Afghans who worked with US, but activists call for urgency.

Washington, DC – Afghans who worked with the United States in Afghanistan are among the most vulnerable segments of the population after the Taliban’s takeover of the country, US immigration advocates and lawmakers are warning. As US forces temporarily paused their mission to evacuate US citizens and Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) applicants through Kabul airport on Monday, many have sounded the alarm that the latter group must not be left behind. Those fears increased after footage showed hundreds of desperate Afghans swarming the tarmac at the airport in an effort to leave the country, with some holding on to a departing US military aircraft.