Jesse Parker is a concerned Iowan and military veteran from Dallas County.

After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August 2021, nearly 900 Afghan refugees immigrated to Iowa.  Some of them recently received notices from the federal Department of Homeland Security, instructing them to self-deport out of the United States.

According to the director of Afghan Partners in Iowa, these people are experiencing tremendous fear given the wording of these emails:

“It is time for you to leave the United States […] Do not attempt to remain in the United States — The federal government will find you.”

Not long ago, Iowa provided helping hands and located resources to help Afghans fleeing war-torn Afghanistan. Iowans and local service members were proud to help Afghans escape to safety. We welcomed people such as Nabi Mohammadi, who served as an interpreter for the Iowa National Guard in 2010 and 2011. He risked his own life to ensure Iowans could return home to their families.

Military officers from the Iowa National Guard were actively engaged in helping Nabi and his family escape Afghanistan and bring his family to Iowa. These Iowa military officers were successful in procuring a visa for Nabi in 2013. He and his family moved into a small apartment near Drake University with the help of National Guard soldiers and Drake University Army ROTC candidates.

Our own service members recognize and value the sacrifices of people like Nabi. Service members who served in Afghanistan understand the terror, fear, and danger the Afghan people faced in their nation. We ought to be proud that Iowans stood for protecting the vulnerable.

On August 29, 2021, President Joe Biden instructed the Department of Homeland Security to proceed with an operation to provide resources for Afghan refugees to resettle in the United States known as Operation Allies Welcome. Iowa answered the call for help, and we welcomed over 900 Afghans.

Local non-profits such as the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and the Drake University Legal Clinic offered services to Afghans displaced during the Kabul evacuation. Nationally, the Afghan immigrant population grew to 195,000 as of 2022. Nearly every one of these immigrants has experienced the destabilizing effects from the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

So where does Iowa stand today? That is yet to be known. Will our state protect the Afghans we proudly welcomed? Or will we let their voices be drowned out by the chaotic and apathetic approach to immigrants under the Trump administration? Will Iowa live up to our new motto, “Freedom to Flourish?”

Perhaps we will find value in the inscription on the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Perhaps our state government will choose to protect the refugees of war we welcomed. We have an obligation as a state to ensure these immigrants are protected from the federal government’s heartless attacks. The people of Afghanistan have paid an untold price because of the Global War on Terror. Afghans who found a better life in Iowa must not pay the price a second time.