BRATTLEBORO-For the approximately 200 Afghan refugees who are now living, working, making friends, and paying taxes in Windham County, an undeniable chill is in the air.
On Nov. 26, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29 — once part of a “Zero Unit,” a secret set of units of Afghans who operated under CIA direction and whose dangerous mandate in Afghanistan was to track down and kill Taliban leaders — has been accused of using his skills to shoot two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
One of the service members, Sarah Beckstrom, 20, later died, while Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized in serious condition. Lakanwal was arrested and is being held for the crime. An investigation is underway.
But as the nation mourns the shootings, thousands of other legally vetted Afghans who entered the U.S. since U.S. forces left Afghanistan in 2021 are living in fear.
On Nov. 27, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph B. Edlow announced on the social platform X, that, at the direction of President Donald Trump, “I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
One of the “countries of concern” is Afghanistan.
On Thanksgiving night, Trump vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.”
Since at least June 4, Trump has been trying, through a presidential proclamation, to restrict the entry into this country of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, as well as 11 other countries: Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
And on Dec. 1, the Trump administration paused all immigration applications from Afghan nationals.
In response, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, said on CNN that the Trump administration is “harassing” Afghan migrants through its crackdown on those from the country.
“Going after a large group of people, most of which I think are just trying to live their lives, raise their families, go to work every day, the U.S. government harassing them years later does not make a lot of sense to me,” Kelly said.
Immediately after the shooting, immigrant communities sprang into action, condemning the shooting.
The Lapis Social and Cultural Association of the Greater Washington D.C. area, whose mission is to “foster cultural understanding, strengthen the bonds of community, and preserve the rich traditions of our Afghan heritage,” sent out a letter on Nov. 28 saying, “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the heinous and violent act committed against two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C.”
The organization emphasized that “evil carries no passport and does not represent a culture ... The actions of a criminal individual do not, and will never, represent the soul and collective conscience of the Afghanistan community.”
Vermont responds
On the local level, the president’s response to the shooting directly impacts Vermont, which has resettled approximately 650 Afghan refugees, about one-third of them in Windham County.
On Dec. 2, Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement saying the state should continue to welcome vetted refugees.
“Many of our Afghan friends and neighbors served side by side with Americans fighting terrorists in their homeland and both they and their families faced extreme danger in doing so,” Scott said.
He said that he has met with members of the Afghan refugee community and that he continues to believe “we’ve done the right thing and should continue to welcome vetted refugees to Vermont and encourage them to pursue citizenship.”
“These individuals have an extraordinary track record of achieving economic independence and making positive contributions in our communities,” Scott said. “I’m proud of them and of the Vermonters who have stepped up to help them build stable, independent lives.”
The shooting in Washington, however, is a reminder that people, especially people involved in warfare, can become violent for inexplicable reasons, Scott said.
“Although there’s no excuse for what happened,” Scott said, “it’s also not fair to cast blame on an entire group of people who are doing the best they can to integrate into our communities and follow the American dream.”
The governor also said he finds it just as “reasonable and prudent for the federal government to investigate to be sure there are no additional security concerns or vulnerabilities in our systems.”
“It is important that America have a secure, compassionate, legal immigration system that prioritizes protecting our allies when they need us most,” Scott said.
Molly Gray, the executive director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance, also sent out a news release condemning the shooting.
While she agreed that “the act of one individual, on his own, cannot be attributed to an entire community or nationality,” she said that Trump’s “deeply harmful” response “spreads misinformation about Afghan allies and veterans who risked everything for this country.”
Afghans risked their lives in services to U.S. military and diplomatic missions over a 21-year period in Afghanistan, Gray said.
“These individuals face persecution by the Taliban for their loyalty to the U.S. and fled everything — including family — for safety here,” Gray said.
“Today, Afghan allies across Vermont work tirelessly to rebuild their new lives, grow Vermont’s workforce and tax base, contribute to the Vermont economy, and the vibrancy of dozens of Vermont communities.”
“Afghan allies are our neighbors, our friends, and colleagues. Today, and over the coming days, we hope all Vermonters will join us in statements of compassion and support for Afghan veterans and allies — our newest Vermonters.
To the Afghan community we serve: We thank you for your service, we recognize your incredible strength and contributions,” Gray said. “We stand with you.”
Helping where possible
Joe Wiah, the refugee resettlement director of the Ethiopian Community Development Council’s (ECDC) Vermont office in Brattleboro, also issued a statement that condemned the shooting as “tragic.”
“ECDC Vermont strongly condemns this senseless act of violence,” Wiah wrote. “Those responsible should be held accountable under the full weight of the law, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. While we await additional guidance before issuing a comprehensive statement, we want to keep you informed about what we currently know.”
He cited the freeze on the adjustment of status applications for Afghan nationals, a “proposed pause on migration from ‘third world countries’ to allow the U.S. system to ‘fully recover from policies that had eroded the gains and living conditions of many Americans,’” and a pledge to end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens.
Wiah also cited the USCIS’s decision to review green cards issued to those “third world countries.”
“We understand this news may cause concern and anxiety,” Wiah wrote. “Please know that ECDC Vermont remains committed to supporting you during this uncertain time. Our entire community — immigrants and non-immigrants alike — has demonstrated remarkable resilience through challenges before, and we will continue to stand together.”
Wiah asked any immigrants contacted by USCIS to get in touch with him or their immigration attorney.
“ECDC is here to support you every step of the way,” Wiah wrote. “We are monitoring the situation closely and will provide updates as more information becomes available. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. Together, we remain strong. We ask our entire community to keep one another in their thoughts and prayers during this time.”
So far, Wiah told The Commons, his agency has received no instructions from the federal government to re-examine immigration applications from Afghan nationals.
“The only policy statements so far are a pause on all asylum decisions,” Wiah said. “We haven’t yet received notification from the federal government to re-examine or inspect any of our clients.”
He said he is very concerned about the president’s actions in the aftermath of the shootings.
“Our population is concerned, especially the Afghan population,” he said. “Right now, there are a lot of fears and concerns going on. Right now we are trying to provide some support and information to them, because there’s a lot of fear and trauma.”
Wiah reiterated that many Afghans risked their lives for the United States.
“Most of the refugees that are coming from Afghanistan are special immigrant visa holders,” Wiah said. “These were folks that worked directly with the U.S. military, just like this person who committed this horrific crime. They have sacrificed their lives, and because of that, they can’t return to Afghanistan. They have given support to the U.S. government and to our country.”
They are now facing a difficult conundrum, Wiah said.
“They cannot go home to Afghanistan, and yet here they are, being brushed with the same brush because of the acts of one person who we condemn,” Wiah said.
Fitting into the community
Since they arrived, the Afghan population has settled into Windham County’s community life and is making its mark on the community — literally, in the case of the Artlords, a creative collective from Kabul whose murals decorate many Brattleboro walls.
New Americans are also working at jobs ranging from the check-out counters at local supermarkets to cleaning houses to doing carpentry in private homes. They are preparing and selling Afghan food in different locales, and working at Cersosimo Lumber. They are also involved in health care, serving in the area’s nursing homes and at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
All the Afghan individuals who have resettled in Brattleboro who applied have been granted asylum status, Wiah said.
“As you may know, asylum recipients must wait one year from the date their asylum is granted before becoming eligible to apply for a green card,” Wiah said.
“Currently, our Afghan population falls into three categories: Some have already received their green cards, others have submitted applications and are awaiting processing, and those who arrived more recently have not yet reached the one-year eligibility threshold.”
Wiah could not provide specific numbers.
Nanci Leitch of Guilford is one of the many volunteers here who have worked to help the Afghans resettle. She now mentors two families.
“I started off as being kind of a Welcome Wagon — unofficially, you know,” Leitch said.
She and her husband, Brian Remer, would drive up to the School for International Training, where the Afghan immigrants initially stayed and were acclimated to life in their new country, and invited new arrivals on a tour of the area and to “just get you off campus.”
“That’s how we started getting involved, just thinking what we would enjoy doing with the refugees after the Afghans came,” Leitch said.
One of the families she is close with has been trying to reunite with nine of their 10 children who were separated from them while boarding planes to leave Afghanistan.
“They were all at the airport on the day they were trying to leave, and then the suicide bombs happened,” Leitch said. “There was a suicide bomber at the gate when the Afghans were trying to pack onto as many planes as they could, to get out.”
A bomb went off.
“And the family got separated. The parents got pushed onto one plane, and they thought the kids would be on another. But they never were,” Leitch said. “So the older kids have been raising the younger kids in hiding in Afghanistan.”
The children have already had immigration hearings, bringing them one step closer to reuniting them with their families.
“And that’s right when Trump said, ‘I am banning all Afghans’ or whatever he said,” Leitch said. “But because they’d already been pre-approved, they shouldn’t have been prevented from coming on that basis, right? The whole, ‘Oh, they’re all terrorists.’ That basis. So there is now a lawsuit for all these asylees.“
The Trump administration “is not following U.S. or international law about refugees and how this is all supposed to work,” she said.
“So, long story short, we continue to be involved, because there is always hope that somehow, we were going to make this work, where they could join the parents. And I guess we’re losing hope now. This is like the last straw.”
The Afghans she knows are kind, hardworking and trustworthy people, said Leitch, who did not want to identify any family by name because of possible retaliation from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
“They are widely loved in Brattleboro, starting with their English teachers,” she said. “They’re delightful, joyous people, even though they’ve got this tremendous weight on them.”
The father of this family has been working seven days a week, and even nights, to send money home to support his children as well as to build a life here. Leitch says there’s a GoFundMe site for this family at www.gofundme.com/f/help-afghan-refugee-family-reunite-in-vermont.
“And they’re both great cooks,” Leitch said. “They love to make food for people, both for their Afghan community and to introduce their many Brattleboro friends to their cuisine. The wife has started her own sort of food subscription business.”
The Brattleboro area has been so welcoming to refugees that it has achieved a nationwide reputation for kindness, Leitch said.
“All the Afghans here love Brattleboro,” she said, noting that some have left and presumed that they would find other parts of the country equally accommodating.
They weren’t. And now the new Americans-in-waiting are coming back to Brattleboro.
“I just heard another family is coming back, and those here are telling their relatives, ‘You know, you should really come to Brattleboro. This is where they really look after the Afghan community, and they welcome us here,’” Leitch said. “They really feel supported and loved.
“I just hope that we’re up to doing what we need to do to protect them in this next phase,” she added.
This News item by Joyce Marcel was written for The Commons.