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Ali Faqirzada is an Afghan refugee. He deserves to stay in America | Francine Prose

In a more reasonable, more compassionate country, we would thank Ali Faqirzada for how much he has done on behalf of his people and our own

On 14 October, Ali Faqirzada – an Afghan refugee, a resident of New Paltz, New York, and a computer science student at Bard College – arrived for an interview at a federal immigration office on Long Island. He was applying for political asylum, a designation for which he was – and remains – a perfect candidate.

In his native country, Faqirzada had assisted the American government and Nato with projects designed to improve the lives of Afghan women and help them get an education. But after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the ministry where he, his mother and sister had worked was bombed by the Taliban, and one of its employees was murdered.

Francine Prose is a former president of PEN American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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© Photograph: Ali Faqirzada

© Photograph: Ali Faqirzada

© Photograph: Ali Faqirzada

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Peer suspended from House of Lords was allegedly paid $1m in ‘corrupt’ deal

Lord Evans of Watford and other directors of investment firm deny claims made in lawsuits they say are ‘meritless’

A peer suspended by the House of Lords for breaking lobbying rules is now facing claims that he received at least $1m (£760,000) from an allegedly corrupt deal.

Lord Evans of Watford, a longtime Labour peer, was found last week by the House of Lords watchdog to have broken its rules four times after undercover reporting by the Guardian, and will be suspended for five months.

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© Composite: Guardian Design/EPA/Parliament

© Composite: Guardian Design/EPA/Parliament

© Composite: Guardian Design/EPA/Parliament

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A Volunteer’s Dire Warnings About the National Guard D.C. Shooting Suspect

More than a year before the Trump administration granted asylum to the Afghan immigrant, the volunteer’s emails raised concerns that he was unraveling.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

Two National Guard troops were shot near the White House on the day before Thanksgiving.
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Afghan Refugees Face Uncertain Future As Trump Tightens Immigration Policy

Afghan immigrants in the United States believed they were safe. A deadly shooting that authorities say was carried out by an Afghan has thrown their futures into doubt.

© Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

Obaidullah Durani and his daughter, Hela, at the Arizona Refugee Center in Mesa, Ariz. Mr. Durani, a fighter pilot, arrived from Afghanistan with his two children in 2021, but his wife is still in Afghanistan.
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Trump is using a tragic shooting to demonize millions | Mohamad Bazzi

The administration is heightening its anti-immigrant crackdown – and punishing people from a country the US helped destroy

After two national guard members were ambushed in Washington DC last week, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, Donald Trump went on a hate-filled social media rant and vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries”.

Trump’s late night Thanksgiving posts devolved into a fury, evidently because the suspected gunman is an Afghan national. He had worked with the US government, including the CIA, and was evacuated to the US in 2021 after the American military withdrew from Afghanistan.

Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University

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© Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

© Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

© Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

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