Veterans Hail Biden-Ordered Review of Visa Program for Iraqi, Afghan Military Interpreters
Spc. Alaa Jaza, an Arabic linguist attached to Troop A, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, advises Iraqi Army soldiers with the 73rd Brigade, 15th Division, on how to set battle positions to avoid friendly fire during a training event at Camp Taji, Iraq, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (Cody Quinn/U.S. Army)
11 Feb 2021
Zach Iscol has twice fought to secure a U.S. visa for interpreters who fought alongside him in war zones. He s been successful only once.
A decorated former Marine Corps officer, Iscol was able to vouch for Iraqi linguist Khalid Abood and his family, who faced death threats in Baghdad but only after an aggressive lobbying campaign that culminated in testimony on Capitol Hill in 2007.
might otherwise qualify? we don t know how that will work out. we know tens of thousands of refugee who is are in the very late stages of a year s long screening process will remain in limbo and in danger. among those people are thousands of iraqis who served as military translators who are waiting for resettlementhrough t refugee program. kids with medical emergencies, many others. has anybody from the administration talked to you or talked to other people that do the kind of work you do about what their ideas mean in terms of extreme vetting and the way these things are going to be allowed to be cut back. any sort of due diligence with you guys in terms of being the people that work with refugee families? we haven t had that kind of engagement. the extreme vetting we have had has been in place for many years for refugees. we see people rejected for pretenses for many years. it s already extreme vetting. betsy fisher, which has a
many others. has anybody from the administration talked to you or talked to other people that do the kind of work you do about what their ideas mean in terms of extreme vetting and the way these things are going to be allowed to be cut back. any sort of due diligence with you guys in terms of being the people that work with refugee families? we haven t had that kind of engagement. the extreme vetting we have had has been in place for many years for refugees. we see people rejected for pretenses for many years. it s already extreme vetting. betsy fisher, which has a very solid reputation in this field doing very difficult work. good luck. thank you. we ll be right back with a story i guarantee you have not seen anywhere else that will not involve the word trump even once. what s it like to be in good hands? like finding new ways to be taken care of. home, car, life insurance obviously, ohhh.
families? we haven t had that kind of engagement. the extreme vetting we have had has been in place for many years for refugees. we see people rejected for pretenses for many years. it s already extreme vetting. betsy fisher, which has a very solid reputation in this field doing very difficult work. good luck. thank you. we ll be right back with a story i guarantee you have not seen anywhere else that will not involve the word trump even once.