WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – For Afghan refugee families currently residing in Central Wisconsin, family reunification may be on the table.
The news of the new program from the Ethiopian Community Council of Wausau (ECDC) was released on December 1st, 2023, and would enable Afghan refugees living in the United States and Central Wisconsin to bring their relatives from abroad.
Family members entering the country through the program must be either green card holders or asylum seekers.
“The family reunification process is hugely important. There hasn’t been a refugee who’s arrived who hasn’t had questions about family and how to reunify, so we’re doing what we can, but we know it’s a hugely important thing,” said Eric Yonke, Director of the ECDC Multicultural Community Center of Wausau.
Immigration from the Middle East has been a hot topic among lawmakers, including Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany, who introduced the GAZA Act back in October that would not allow people with passports issued by the Palestinian Authority to be eligible for visa admission into the U.S.
Tiffany’s bill came after internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data leaked to Fox News, which showed thousands of “special interest aliens” from various countries, including the Middle East, have been arrested by Border Patrol agents while attempting to cross the U.S. southern border and immigrate over the last two years.
“Special interest aliens” are nationals from countries that the US government has designated as having conditions that either shield or encourage terrorism or could endanger US national security.
