The recent shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., has Afghans in Kentucky worried. The alleged shooter is an Afghan national who came to the U.S. after the government of Afghanistan fell in 2021. Many of the people in that country who aided the United States military were brought to the U.S. for their safety as the Taliban returned.
With recent changes in immigration policy and the recent shooting, many are concerned about being painted with a broad brush and facing backlash.
John Koehlinger is the Executive Director of Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Inc. He said he is hearing a lot from Afghans in the commonwealth.
“A lot of fear, a lot of fear, the fear when there's a shooting, and Muslim immigrants or refugees or other immigrants are thinking, 'Please, God, don't let it be a crime that people can brand us as responsible for” these people have been the victims of extremism,” he said.
He said there is a high threshold that asylum seekers have to meet.
“You have to provide voluminous evidence and go to an asylum office for a lengthy interview for hours, and really prove you cannot return to your country of origin without facing a lethal threat, which the Afghans were legitimately able to do,” he said.
Koehlinger said many of the Afghans in Kentucky are afraid they could lose their status in the U.S.
Koehlinger said there are many success stories from refugees who have made Kentucky their home. He said many young refugees succeed in college and find jobs in local economies.
