Florida Republicans support resettling Afghan refugees, translators

Republicans from South Florida are unequivocally in favor of opening the country’s doors to Afghan refugees and visa holders, though at this time there’s no immediate plan to resettle them in Florida after they arrive in the United States.

Their position differs from former President Donald Trump and some in the Republican Party who have warned that “terrorists” will be allowed into the U.S. as President Joe Biden ends the 20-year U.S. military occupation in Afghanistan — prompting a chaotic and deadly mass evacuation of American citizens, Afghan Special Immigration Visa holders and other refugees who fear reprisal from the Taliban.

Florida’s Republican senators and U.S. representatives are in favor of honoring the commitment made to 22,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants and their families along with refugees who are referred by the United Nations, the U.S. Embassy or a designated non-governmental organization.

“We further believe that the evacuation should not only include the 22,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants in Afghanistan, but also those eligible for Priority 1 and Priority 2 refugee statuses,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio wrote in a letter to Joe Biden. “We do not need to remind you the reign of terror the Taliban had imposed on Afghanistan during the 1990s, when their harsh interpretation of Sharia law led to systemic violations of human rights.”

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said in a letter to Biden that “it must be made clear we will not withdraw” until every U.S. citizen and “our allies and those who stood and fought beside us in Afghanistan” are evacuated.

“Mr. President, the American people and our military deserve an unequivocal commitment that your administration will devote all military resources to ensure that every American is safely evacuated from Afghanistan as quickly as possible,” Scott wrote. “This commitment must also be made to our allies and all who stood and fought beside us in Afghanistan.”

But other prominent voices in the Republican Party are taking a different position.

Trump, who remains the GOP favorite to run for president in 2024, questioned the vetting of Afghan refugees, who were subject to strict vetting and counter-intelligence investigations before they were cleared to work alongside American troops.

“You can be sure the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn’t allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights,” Trump said in a statement. “Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighborhoods around the world. What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don’t know!”

Trump’s sentiments have been echoed by other Republican members of Congress, candidates for office and conservative cable news pundits, with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeting “GA shouldn’t welcome Afghan refugees while 1,000’s of Americans are stranded. Will this bring chain migration too? How much will it cost GA taxpayers in assistance?”

J.C Torres, a Tallahassee-based development manager for the International Rescue Committee, an international organization that provides aid to refugees, said the process for settling Afghan refugees in the U.S. includes rigorous vetting before they are settled across the country.

“The refugee resettlement process and SIV [Special Immigrant Visa] process has many guardrails to make sure that they are heavily vetted and pose no threat to U.S. communities,” Torres said.

U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, who left Cuba for the U.S. as a child in 1960 after Fidel Castro’s takeover, said Afghans who helped the U.S. “are owed a debt by the United States.”

“We need to repay that debt,” Gimenez said in a statement. “If we don’t safeguard those Afghans, the United States will never get anyone to cooperate with us in the future.”

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who frequently discusses how her family fled Castro’s Cuba with “five dollars in their pocket,” also called for Afghan refugees to be granted safe haven in the U.S.

“We must do everything we can to help evacuate American citizens and our brave Afghan partners,” said Salazar, who has argued that the Republican Party must embrace immigration policy changes to win elections.

And two Florida Republicans who served in Afghanistan, U.S. Reps. Brian Mast and Michael Waltz, have also vocally called on the U.S. to accept Afghans who helped the U.S. military in the last 20 years.

But other prominent voices like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson are against resettling many refugees, warning “first we invade, and then we are invaded.”

South Florida Republicans, while fiercely critical of Biden’s decision to withdraw by Aug. 31 after Trump originally pledged to leave by May 1 if reelected, are confident that Republican voters will back their decision to welcome refugees. Recent polling published Sunday from CBS News/YouGov shows widespread support for accepting refugees — with 81 percent of Americans in support and 76 percent of Republicans in favor. The poll also showed sinking approval ratings for Biden, with only 47 percent saying they support his handling of the withdrawal even though 63 percent support withdrawing itself.

Torres said his organization is urging supporters to contact members of Congress to lobby in favor of accepting refugees.

“We’re mobilizing our community supporters and having them contact their congressional delegations,” Torres said. “It’s important for them to talk to their members to let them know that refugees worked for us. It’s the right thing to do, to welcome them after they put their lives in danger.”

Torres said there aren’t any current plans for Afghan refugees to be sent to Florida. Most refugees in the United States are currently at military bases in Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin until they are cleared to leave.

“We’re having discussions with sister refugee resettlement agencies but we haven’t received any stories or reports of Afghan refugees or SIV holders arriving to Florida yet,” Torres said. “Eventually, they will be resettled throughout the country. There might be a chance that some of those individuals might be resettled in Florida communities.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 6:00 AM.