More than 300 Afghan refugees have settled across Indiana since evacuations began in 2021 when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Evacuation efforts continue.
Erin Aquino is the director of Bloomington's Exodus Refugee, a local resettlement agency. She said most evacuees who’ve lived in Indiana for over a year are employed, enrolled in language programs, and waiting on a path to citizenship.
Read more: Bloomington federally authorized as resettlement site for refugees
US immigration services gave Afghan evacuees parole status. It’s used for urgent humanitarian need, when refugee and Special Immigrant Visa processes are too slow.
But it doesn’t include a path to permanent resident status or to citizenship, as refugee status does.
Aquino said resettlement groups want Congress to pass a law which would place eligible evacuees on a path to permanent citizenship.
“We've been pushing for the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow Congress to just change their status automatically, which would not require lawyers to have to go to court and adjust that status in court," she said. "And for those that know, our immigration legal system is already overburdened.”
Asylum and Special Immigrant Visas are possible next steps for many evacuees, but often take years to process, Aquino said. Immigration offices are hastening those applications along because parole status usually lasts one to two years.
