Catholic agency helps resettle Afghan translators who aided U.S. forces

ARLINGTON, Va.  -- When U.S. service members were in a foreign land, unsure of the way and unable to speak the language, brave locals came to their assistance.

Now, the Afghans who served as interpreters and guides for the U.S. military need help adjusting to a new country.

For decades, the U.S. military has been in Afghanistan and is now in the process of withdrawing troops. The Taliban, an extremist Islamic movement that ruled Afghanistan until ousted by a U.S.-led coalition, is taking advantage of the withdrawal to gain control in the region, making it especially dangerous for those who assisted U.S. forces.

Operation Allies Refuge, which began July 30, brought planeloads of Afghans to Dulles International Airport in Virginia outside of Washington and they were then taken to Fort Lee, near Petersburg, Virginia. The families were pre-vetted and able to complete the immigration process safely stateside.

Federal, military and nongovernmental agencies all have come together on this project, said Jessica Estrada, director of newcomer services for Catholic Charities of the Arlington Diocese.

“In some circumstances, we wouldn’t all be working together this well, but because this was such a unique situation, everybody’s top priority was the individuals arriving,” she said. “It was quite amazing to see.”

Six diocesan Catholic Charities staffers have been working with the new arrivals at Fort Lee, including Hekmatullah Latifi, who came to the United States with his wife and children on a special immigrant visa in 2016.

In Afghanistan, Latifi worked for the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Agency for International Development. When he felt his family was being threatened, he decided to bring them to the United States.

Since 2008, the U.S. has welcomed 70,000 Afghans who assisted Americans overseas through the Special Immigrant Visa program, according to the U.S. State Department. Usually the application process is completed in Afghanistan. But because of the country’s current volatile situation, immigrants needed to leave the country quickly.