Here & Now

Legal Aid for Afghan Refugees

Frederica Freyberg:

Fort McCoy in Wisconsin is now reportedly at or near its capacity for housing newly-arrived refugees from Afghanistan. An estimated nearly 13,000 adults and children from that country are temporarily residing at the U.S. Army installation near Tomah. What are their lives like and what are their needs and hardships? We check in with Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She and her students hope to support the legal clinic at Fort McCoy and she has recently visited there. Thanks very much for being here.

Erin Barbato:

Thanks so much for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what services are you and your law students hoping to provide at Fort McCoy?

Erin Barbato:

Well, what we’re hoping to do is ensure that people are welcomed with dignity and part of that I believe is ensuring people know their legal rights when they are in the United States. What is their pathway to citizenship now that they’re here? So we’re hoping to support that movement on base at Fort McCoy in the near future.

Frederica Freyberg:

What specific kind of legal assistance do you expect they will need?

Erin Barbato:

Well, all of them had to evacuate in an emergent situation. Some of them were in the middle of their legal process. For example, many of them I met with had pending special immigrant visas, who were people who worked for the embassy or for the U.S. Army as interpreters. But they had to flee before their actual visa and their pathway to citizenship was complete. So now they’re waiting to see what the next steps are. So we’re hoping to learn what the next steps will be for them and to support them through that process.

Frederica Freyberg:

So how would you describe the experience of being amidst the thousands of newly-arrived people airlifted out of Afghanistan?

Erin Barbato:

It was a sight I had never anticipated seeing, especially in western Wisconsin. It’s a beautiful area of Wisconsin where this sprawling military base is. When we drove through, we were going through at 15 miles an hour. It’s a really slow speed limit. And the first thing I saw were families from Afghanistan just walking the streets. It was something I had never anticipated seeing before. So it was pretty surreal.

Frederica Freyberg:

Is the trauma of the people who were literally plucked out of Kabul palpable?

Erin Barbato:

It was. When I met with the families, women, children, fathers, single men, we heard their stories and the emergent situation that they had to flee was clear. Everyone was quite gracious to be where they were, but you could tell they were worried about their family members still in Afghanistan or their family members that had to flee to other countries. It’s common in the immigration system, but these families were torn apart, often in the situation that they had no control over.

Frederica Freyberg:

And now they are here. What are conditions like for people housed at Fort McCoy? What are they telling you about their hardships or their barriers there?

Erin Barbato:

Most of what I discuss with people were their legal options. During those discussions sometimes they did discuss what the living environment was for them at Fort McCoy. And, as I said before, people seemed to be incredibly gracious. But it was clear that there were hardships. Many of them told me that they didn’t have a change of clothes or that their shoes were not the right size as well as waiting in long lines for food. And nobody really wanted to complain, but I could tell that this was not the situation where we were welcoming someone with dignity and I think we could do a much better job.

Frederica Freyberg:

You have told us that you felt as though the authorities or the people at Fort McCoy were trying hard to make things better. Is that what you believe about that?

Erin Barbato:

I do. I mean, the first thing I saw when I pulled up to get my security pass to enter the base was a man, a veteran arriving in a huge truck full of donations. And we’ve seen people across Wisconsin come together to donate money and materials to ensure that people do have what they need. But I think because of the emergent situation and people arriving so quickly, we just didn’t have everything set up in a way that could get the materials to people when they need it. But I could see people working as hard as possible to bring these supplies to the people who so desperately need them.

Frederica Freyberg:

In your estimation, what help can they use now and going forward?

Erin Barbato:

I think because there’s 13,000 people, an estimated 13,000 people there, there’s a need for new clothing and materials and also just monetary donations so that organizations that are supporting the work on the ground there can use that money as conditions change and as needs arise.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, it’s reported that of the thousands of new arrivals, about 400 are likely to resettle in Wisconsin? Will your project continue to help serve those people?

Erin Barbato:

You know, if there’s a need, I hope we can, but oftentimes if they were settled through the refugee resettlement agency they can get legal access to attorneys in that way. So we’re studying this process and my students are very eager to help in any way we can. But I’m also hoping that the resettlement agency in Wisconsin will have the capacity to serve them as well.

Frederica Freyberg:

Thank you very much. Erin Barbato, thank you.

Erin Barbato:

Thank you.