FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 6, 2024

ANAR WILL CONTINUE TO STAND WITH IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

Today, we reaffirm our story and our mission. ANAR started organically out of community-led efforts in response to urgent immigration needs. We continue to exist because those needs persist today, and regardless of who holds political power, immigrant communities like ours are forced to fight for our fundamental rights and dignity.

Our mission statement has always been:

“We envision a world in which Afghans, and all people, can move freely, without the barriers imposed on them by the systems that displaced them to begin with. We envision an Afghan community in the U.S. that is empowered to engage in individual and collective immigration advocacy. We recognize that Afghans have faced barriers as a result of decades of foreign policy intervention, and we view individual and collective access to immigration as a form of reparations for our community.”

We recognize the fear and uncertainty that another Trump administration brings, given his history of abhorrent anti-immigrant policies and the plans that his campaign has already shared, including ones that specifically target our community. Today’s results come after months of campaigns spewing xenophobia and racism, and support for multiple genocides.

We also recognize that our communities are resilient and resourceful. We call on people to stand with us in this ongoing fight, because change comes when we stand together, refuse to give in to despair, and remember not to wait for politicians who will never rescue us.

Over the last three years, we have been advocating alongside our community members as they navigate opaque and unwelcoming immigration processes. We have been providing critical, direct legal assistance to more than 4,000 individuals, many of whom have experienced barriers to legal representation because of underfunded services. We have been leading political education, by democratizing access to information on the policies impacting our community, and bringing people together to learn, like through our BAMEMSA Border Abolition reading group. We have been engaging civically by elevating the voices of impacted community members at all levels of government, including through advocacy campaigns in which over 8,000 people have taken action with us. Finally, we have been in active solidarity with other communities navigating similar challenges, by sharing our model, resources, and collective knowledge to empower one another. We will continue these efforts into the next administration just as steadfast as in this one.

As we look toward the future, we hope that you join us in continuing to help meet the growing needs of our vulnerable community members. ANAR has planned skill-building and education sessions for our community members and allies, which will become all the more critical after today’s results.

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Project ANAR is an Afghan community immigration justice organization formed and led by Afghan American women immigration lawyers and organizers, that focuses on legal services, community education, and advocacy and engagement. Project ANAR’s objectives include obtaining permanent status for Afghans in the U.S., advocating for the expansion of pathways for those seeking refuge, and seeking an end to the systems that displace our communities. Project ANAR works primarily in the Bay Area, California and in Northern Virginia, and also engages in national level advocacy and legal services work.