The Trump administration has virtually closed the door on Iraqis who worked as interpreters for the U.S. military, issuing only two U.S. visas to former interpreters last year, according to government statistics obtained by NBCNews
, issuing only two U.S. visas to former interpreters last year, according to government statistics obtained by NBC News.have faced threats, abductions and attacks for their association with American forces, and hundreds have been killed by militants since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.but he says that even there he has been targeted by ISIS militants.
Iraqi interpreter Shaker Jeffrey holds an American flag with two U.S. soldiers at a forward operating base in northern Iraq outside of Tal Afar in 2009.It remains unclear why the number of visas issued to Iraqi interpreters has declined so dramatically but refugee advocates and lawmakers say it appears to be a case of collateral damage from the Trump administration's overall crackdown on immigration and refugees.
"Every time I went out on a mission with my American team without a weapon of any kind, I was marked," said Jeffrey."The infidel helping the infidels.” Humanitarian organizations, lawmakers and veterans who served in Iraq say denying or delaying visas to former interpreters represents a betrayal of partners who risked their lives to help the United States.
More than 142,000 Iraqis have resettled in the United States since 2007, including 47,000 who were admitted under a program for those who worked with the U.S. government, known as the Direct Access Program, the spokesperson added.Successive administrations have come under criticism for delays in granting visas to Iraqis who served alongside U.S. troops, and a backlog of applicants preceded Trump’s arrival in the White House.
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