Wahab said that while many questions remain for investigators, it’s clear that Afghans undergo some of the most rigorous security screening of any immigrant population, such as biometric data and interagency scrutiny.
“The mere fact of this incident taking place should not be used as an excuse by political parties to demonize immigrants,” Wahab said.
She noted that Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces did so under extraordinary circumstances — and at great personal risk — after being promised a path to safety for themselves and their immediate families. Many, she said, are still coping with trauma from decades of war. She called for a balanced response.
“There are individuals that will have mental health issues, that will have PTSD, that will have a lot of other concerns,” Wahab said, “but we also are a nation built by immigrants. And we need to honor that and make sure that people feel welcomed and supported and treated equally.”
Azam said approximately 80% of recent Afghan arrivals are working, with many employed at major American companies or serving in the U.S. military. Halting their progress because of one violent act, he said, would be “a tough pill to swallow.”
He called on national leaders in both parties to return to the bipartisan cooperation that once guided Afghan resettlement, pointing to the 2021 testimony of Trump’s former national security advisor-turned United Nations ambassador, Mike Waltz.
Waltz, the first Green Beret elected to the U.S. House, appeared before Congress alongside one of his former Afghan interpreters as he urged the Biden White House to take care of its allies as the U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We need to ask ourselves, as Americans, what message are we sending in terms of keeping our promises, not only with the Afghans, but again, around the world?” Waltz testified. “The bottom line is, we need to get them out. We have a moral obligation to get them out. This is not just a moral obligation, but it is a national security obligation.”
Azam said the answer to one heinous act is not collective punishment: “I hope cooler heads prevail.”
