US to Admit More Afghan Refugees as Taliban Violence Increases
2021-08-03
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The United States is expanding efforts to permit Afghan citizens who have worked with the U.S. to resettle as refugees in America.
2The U.S. State Department announced Monday it was widening a refugee program.
3The move is expected to offer permanent U.S. refugee status to "many thousands of Afghans and their immediate family members."
4The State Department said "the U.S. objective remains a peaceful, secure Afghanistan."
5However, it added that the refugee program was being expanded "in light of increased levels of Taliban violence" in the country.
6The expansion aims to help Afghans who might be targeted by Taliban militants because of their work with U.S.-based organizations during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
7The announcement came as Taliban violence has increased ahead of a planned withdrawal of U.S. military forces from the country by the end of this month.
8The State Department said it had created a new "Priority Two" category to accept more Afghan refugees within its U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
9The change extends refugee status to current and former employees of U.S.-based aid and development agencies.
10Other assistance groups receiving U.S. financing are also included.
11In addition, Afghan citizens working for U.S.-based news organizations are included in the program.
12The expansion will also cover current and former employees of the U.S. government and NATO military operations who do not meet requirements for existing refugee programs.
13The new category is meant for Afghans who are not able to get a Special Immigrant Visa, SIV, because they did not work directly for the U.S. government or did not hold their government jobs long enough.
14To qualify, Afghans must be nominated by a U.S. government agency or by the highest U.S. citizen employee of a U.S-based media company or nongovernmental organization.
15The first group of approved SIV holders -- most of whom served as translators or did other work for U.S. troops or diplomats -- arrived in the U.S. last Friday.
16That group of 221 people is among 2,500 who will be brought to the U.S. in the coming days.
17Another 4,000 SIV holders have not yet received full approval.
18They are expected to be resettled with their families to third countries ahead of the completion of the U.S. withdrawal.
19About 20,000 Afghans have expressed interest in that program.
20I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The United States is expanding efforts to permit Afghan citizens who have worked with the U.S. to resettle as refugees in America. 2The U.S. State Department announced Monday it was widening a refugee program. The move is expected to offer permanent U.S. refugee status to "many thousands of Afghans and their immediate family members." 3The State Department said "the U.S. objective remains a peaceful, secure Afghanistan." However, it added that the refugee program was being expanded "in light of increased levels of Taliban violence" in the country. 4The expansion aims to help Afghans who might be targeted by Taliban militants because of their work with U.S.-based organizations during the 20-year war in Afghanistan. 5The announcement came as Taliban violence has increased ahead of a planned withdrawal of U.S. military forces from the country by the end of this month. 6The State Department said it had created a new "Priority Two" category to accept more Afghan refugees within its U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. 7The change extends refugee status to current and former employees of U.S.-based aid and development agencies. Other assistance groups receiving U.S. financing are also included. In addition, Afghan citizens working for U.S.-based news organizations are included in the program. 8The expansion will also cover current and former employees of the U.S. government and NATO military operations who do not meet requirements for existing refugee programs. 9The new category is meant for Afghans who are not able to get a Special Immigrant Visa, SIV, because they did not work directly for the U.S. government or did not hold their government jobs long enough. 10To qualify, Afghans must be nominated by a U.S. government agency or by the highest U.S. citizen employee of a U.S-based media company or nongovernmental organization. 11The first group of approved SIV holders -- most of whom served as translators or did other work for U.S. troops or diplomats -- arrived in the U.S. last Friday. That group of 221 people is among 2,500 who will be brought to the U.S. in the coming days. 12Another 4,000 SIV holders have not yet received full approval. They are expected to be resettled with their families to third countries ahead of the completion of the U.S. withdrawal. About 20,000 Afghans have expressed interest in that program. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 15We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 16____________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18category - n. a group of people or things that are similar in nature 19objective - n. something that you are trying to achieve 20qualify - v. to be permitted to do or have something 21translator - n. a person who changes words in one language into another