What's Next for Afghans Fleeing the Taliban?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : Instead, the European Council stated on August 31 that they want to cooperate with Afghanistan's neighboring countries already hosting large numbers of refugees "to prevent illegal migration from the region, reinforce border management capacity and prevent smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings."
53% : Spain has been serving as the processing hub for newly arrived Afghans evacuated by the European Union.
52% : According to a report in the Financial Times, the European Commission plans to allocate €600 million to Afghanistan's neighbors, including Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to help cover expenses generated by an influx of Afghans, and €300 million in humanitarian assistance in the country, largely earmarked for women and girls and other vulnerable groups.
51% : Over the years, most Afghans who have fled their country have been hosted by neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
49% : According to media reports, Afghan military pilots seeking asylum flew helicopters and planes into Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
49% : At some points in the past, Afghans in Iran and Pakistan were recognized as prima facie refugees.
49% : Thus far, while small numbers of Afghan refugees have been granted access to European Union countries, for example, Ireland announced that it has allocated 150 Afghans a place in its refugee protection program, the EU has not made any commitments to resettle Afghan refugees.
49% : Under US law, humanitarian parole is an alternative allowing some immigrants to enter the country temporarily and then seek asylum or complete other visa applications.
49% : The US government should designate Afghanistan a country that triggers access to Temporary Protected Status, allowing Afghans already in the US to work legally and exempting them from immigration enforcement and detention, even if they overstay their existing visas.
49% : Anyone who expresses a wish for asylum or fear for their safety if returned to Afghanistan, regardless of whether a formal application has been submitted in their name or how this fear is expressed, should be given the chance to seek asylum.
47% : Many Afghans fear persecution or reprisals under Taliban rule and hope to seek asylum or other pathways to safely migrate abroad.
47% : Between 2019 and early 2021, Iran pushed almost 1.5 million Afghans back to Afghanistan, many involuntarily.
45% : Governments should ask the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to convene an emergency summit as soon as possible to bring concerned countries together to discuss a coordinated plan to resettle Afghans, in particular high-risk people and their families, and funding for humanitarian needs in countries with large populations of fleeing Afghans, including Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey.
44% : As of July, Iran hosted 800,000 registered refugees and up to 3 million other displaced Afghans.
44% : Afghans who present themselves at any country's border or other port of entry seeking asylum should not be sent back without their claim being assessed in a full and fair procedure.
44% : In the past, ERMA funds have been instrumental in helping the US government scale up its support to refugees and internally displaced people from Syria, Somalia, and South Sudan.
43% : A smaller number of the Afghans seeking visas or asylum based on their fear of persecution due to their identity were also able to board planes as refugees, as were those with family members living as citizens abroad on the basis of family reunification.
43% : At least 2.6 million Afghans were already living abroad as registered refugees, with the largest numbers in neighboring Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey.
33% : Refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan have also faced abuses in Iran, including being prohibited from living in "no-go areas," areas in most provinces off-limits to all non-citizens; being denied access to education; and being detained and deported without due process.

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