Chicago-area asylum seekers who fled Afghanistan file federal lawsuit as their immigration status remains in limbo

Four asylum seekers who resettled in the Chicago area are among a group of Afghans who this week filed a lawsuit pushing the federal government to process their applications before their temporary status in the country expires.

The seven plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court of California Northern District, fled Afghanistan as the Taliban seized power once the U.S. military ended their operation in the country.

The Afghans, who filed the lawsuit, were allowed into the U.S. under humanitarian parole, which allowed them to lawfully enter the country for two years, but that status will likely end in August, said Keren Zwick, the director of litigation for the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center, which is representing the plaintiffs. That looming deadline is one of the reasons why the plaintiffs are turning to the court for relief.

The government had stated that asylum cases from Afghans were going to be expedited and a decision would be made within 150 days of the case being filed.

But Zwick said none of the asylum cases for Afghans in the Chicago area have been decided on within that timeframe. The lawsuit is seeking a court order that would force the government to decide on asylum cases within 30 days if the cases have been pending for more than 150 days or to have adjudicated the other cases within that time frame. The law firm Kirkland & Ellis is also representing some of the other plaintiffs.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The uncertainty for the Chicago area plaintiffs has meant that they aren’t able to access financial aid to pay for college courses, one person hasn’t been able to get certification to continue their career in health care in the U.S. and another person wants to bring his wife and child to the U.S. once the asylum case is resolved, Zwick said.

“These are very compelling asylum claims,” Zwick said. “These people are people who were journalists, employees of the U.S. government, a lot of them are women or people who were standing up for human rights and putting themselves in very vulnerable positions in Afghanistan. They deserve better. I think we should give them what we promised. That’s the least we could do.”

Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.