US Halts Afghan Visas: Blaming the Victims, Again
After two decades of U.S. occupation and a chaotic withdrawal, Afghans seeking refuge are now denied humanitarian visas. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cited a single shooting near the White House, perpetrated by one individual, as justification for indefinitely halting *all* processing for Afghan nationals. This, for those who spent years waiting, now appears to be the
'last path to safety' shutting down, according to Reuters. One might note this swift, collective punishment stands in stark contrast to the slow-walked inquiries into, say, drone strikes on civilian populations that killed dozens. This is the same government that spent trillions and countless lives supposedly 'liberating' Afghanistan, only to then leave it in Taliban hands and now punish those
desperate enough to seek its help. The speed with which an entire nation's pleas are dismissed because of one person’s actions—seemingly without due process for the wider populace—raises questions about the stated values that initially justified the intervention. Compassion, it seems, is a luxury reserved for certain geopolitically convenient crises.