ALMOST TWO YEARS SINCE KABUL FELL, A FRAYED REFUGEE SYSTEM CREATES OBSTACLES FOR AFGHANS IN TEXAS

Felix Villalobos, an attorney for RAICES, which provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees, said so many Afghans have arrived in Texas after the fall of Kabul that he formed a rapid response team that has counseled Afghan families mostly about special immigrant visas and asylum. He estimates RAICES has worked with 400 Afghan refugees so far, and that has just been in San Antonio, where RAICES operates. “It is very time-consuming work,” Villalobos said. “It’s not their fault, and they’re just having to deal with the realization that … they’re in a new country, they may lose status here in the next few months and they’re trying to find a way to stay because they can’t go back.”

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