You are reading

Six Queens Legislators, Among Others, Call on Biden to Bring Afghan Refugees to New York

Young boys in Afghanistan, UnSplash Nov. 25, 2020

Aug. 24, 2021 By Allie Griffin

More than 40 state legislators — including a half dozen from Queens — are calling on President Joseph Biden to welcome Afghan refugees into the country and to set them up in New York.

Queens Assembly Member Catalina Cruz and State Sen. Andrew Gounardes of South Brooklyn penned a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging them to accept refugees from Afghanistan.

Cruz and Gournades said New York is ready, willing and able to welcome the refugees into the state once they make it into the U.S.

“While the situation in Afghanistan unfolds, we write to you as elected officials from New York State saying we will welcome asylum seekers and refugees from Afghanistan and stand ready to support them when they are here,” they wrote in a letter dated Aug. 19.

The letter was signed by nearly 40 other state legislators — including an additional five from Queens.

Queens Assembly Members Brian Barnwell and Jessica Gonzáles-Rojas signed on — along with Senators Michael Gianaris, John Liu and Jessica Ramos.

The officials said New York has the infrastructure to help Afghan asylum seekers.

“Our state is among the best equipped to take in and support these families,” the officials said.

They said there are several organizations in New York that could help Afghan refugees settle in the state. In addition, they note, there is the New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program (NYSESRP), a state-run program that assists newly-arrived refugees.

The program was created in 2017 in response to the Trump administration’s withdrawal from similar federal programs.

“There are fantastic organizations doing resettlement work across the state that can provide them with assistance and services they need,” the legislators wrote.

The lawmakers noted that there are an estimated 30,000 Afghans who are eligible for evacuation and added that New York is ready to help them.

“We hope you will consider New York as a new home for those who have aided our efforts overseas for the past twenty years and who deserve the safety our country can provide,” they wrote.

The U.S. has been evacuating thousands of American citizens and allies in Afghanistan over the last week or so. The U.S. military has evacuated 58,000 people since Aug. 14, when the Taliban took control of Kabul, according to the New York Times.

The administration, however, has struggled to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies, and the mission is becoming more hazardous as the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw troops looms.

The Taliban said Tuesday that is blocking Afghans who wish to flee the country from accessing the airport in Kabul.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 
Roy Geebiv

Great idea. As if we do not already have overcrowding in schools, homeless crisis, infrastructure issue and underfunded in general by liabilities involving SSI/SSD and other government subsidies. NYS/NYC cannot even take care of current residents let alone take in new ones and offer them free everything. This is just poor policy and vote pandering.

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Ridgewood mother and daughter arrested for attacking woman over parking spot: NYPD

A Ridgewood mother and daughter were arrested Monday after they ambushed a young Black woman who tried to park her car in a spot in front of their apartment building that they frequently cordon off with garbage cans and traffic cones.

A family friend was standing at the northeast corner of Onderdonk Avenue and Putnam Avenue at around 7:30 p.m. when the 21-year-old Jada McPherson tried to park her car in the spot. The man placed a garbage can in her way. She drove off and circled the block multiple times. She tried to pull into the same spot one more time, but the man tried to stop her again. McPherson got out of her car to confront him, and an argument ensued.

Man in his 50s sought for exposing himself to 13-year-old on E train in Forest Hills: NYPD

Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and Transit District 20 are looking for a suspect who allegedly flashed a 13-year-old girl on a Queens subway train last month.

The victim was riding a southbound E train approaching the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station at around 1 p.m. on Monday, June 30, when she saw a stranger exposing himself to her, police said Wednesday. The perpetrator ran off the train at the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station and fled in an unknown direction. The youngster was not injured during her encounter with the stranger.