Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2021.
If a single Washington, D.C., official has given so much as a passing thought to open borders and Afghan refugee resettlement’s effect on U.S. population growth and the nation’s already-threatened environment, no evidence can be found. The thousands entering the U.S. legally – Afghan refugees – or illegally – border-crossing migrants – will eventually have the right to petition their nuclear and non-nuclear family members from abroad. Princeton University research estimates that each arriving individual will bring three relatives to the U.S., a process known as chain migration.
The Biden administration is committed to resettling undetermined tens of thousands of Afghans, facilitated through Special Immigrant Visas, SIV applicants, and the process is well underway. A group of 200 refugees who reportedly assisted the U.S. military recently arrived at Dulles International Airport, just outside of D.C. From Dulles, a bus took the refugees to a Virginia Army base for a medical exam. To date, 3,700 refugees have arrived at Dulles. Moreover, throughout the last 15 years, about 100,000 Afghans have been admitted through programs designed for Afghan translators and employees that allegedly worked for the federal government.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that three overseas processing stations in Bahrain, Germany and Qatar have been established, and four more will open soon. DHS’ goal is to expedite 10,000 refugees’ resettlement every day, a huge and perhaps impossible undertaking. Ken Cuccinelli, former DHS deputy chief under President Donald Trump, warned, “It is brutally difficult to get that done with any reliability … It’s impossible when you no longer have a presence in the area.”
In an effort to appease a leery, dubious public, DHS issued the following statement: We are “…working around the clock to ensure individuals are screened against U.S. government databases prior to arrival in the U.S. and upon arrival in the U.S.” But the facts on the ground dispute DHS’ public relations feel-good campaign. A senior Biden administration official admitted that Mayorkas has granted some Afghans “humanitarian parole,” so they are being admitted without any type of visa.
Although the media has extensively covered the Afghans’ perilous position, no official word yet about how, if at all, the arriving Afghans were vetted. The task is, as Cuccinelli said, overwhelming, and critics wonder how it can be done to assure that homeland Americans will be safeguarded. In Wisconsin, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany blasted the White House as Afghan refugees arrived in his home state’s Fort McCoy Army Installation base. Tiffany said the Biden administration didn’t discuss the resettlement plan with local officials and refuses to “elaborate on how many will come, what screening will be carried out prior to arrival, or what will happen after they land here.”
The images from Kabul and the reporting that details the Taliban takeover of the government, despite a U.S. $2 trillion but futile investment in the 20-year long war, are harrowing. But the federal government’s apparent disinterest in comprehensive vetting, and its tolerance for the damaging consequences of huge, ongoing border surges, is worrisome.
On March 16, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the same “around the clock” proclamation about the border fiasco, and reiterated that the Biden administration “will not waiver” in its determination to produce “a safe, legal and orderly immigration system.” Five months later, the border situation is worse than ever. Because DHS prohibits them from performing their fundamental duties – apprehending illegal aliens and preventing them from entering – the Border Patrol agents are, said union representative Jon Anfinsen, demoralized. Anfinsen added that morale among the agents is “in the toilet,” a sign that the border surge will likely continue indefinitely. On a Texas visit, Mayorkas admitted that in July border agents encountered 211,000 migrants; then in a leaked audio, he agreed with most Americans that “the crisis is unsustainable…and we’re going to lose.”
The arriving Afghans represent the first wave of an incoming refugee stream that will last into the foreseeable future, and will be the major contributor to an inevitable population boom. According to the CIA World Factbook, Afghan women give birth, on average, to 4.7 children. Moreover, Islamic law allows males to have up to four wives, provided they deal equally with each of them. Afghan women’s birthing patterns may, once they become established residents, gradually decline and trickle down toward the 2.1 replacement level.
Among some, open borders and Afghan cultural norms are sensitive topics. Nevertheless, they deserve Congress’ consideration as important variables that will irreversibly increase the nation’s population. Once present, neither aliens nor refugees will go home. Still, Congress refuses to debate chain migration or refugee resettlement, and their dire consequences on America’s future.
Visit us on Social Media:
USTW
IfSPP
