A report out this monthfrom the Migration Policy Institute breaks down how Afghan refugees in the U.S. have fared over the last decade.
The report shows the Afghan immigrant population has grown by about 16% between 2010 and 2022 — coinciding with the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Government data analyzed by the group shows there were some 195,000 Afghans living in the U.S. in 2022, including some 2,400 in Arizona.
Most Afghans with permanent residency here have it through a special visa for soldiers, interpreters and others who worked alongside the U.S.
But many of the roughly 76,000 Afghans evacuated from their country by the Biden administration in 2021 are still in legal limbo. That’s because most came here on what’s called humanitarian parole. It’s a temporary, emergency immigration status that doesn’t provide a pathway to permanent residency.
Several versions of a bill that would provide that pathway have stalled in Congress.
