Alameda County — U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15) joined 24 other members of the California congressional delegation last week in sending a letter to President Joe Biden, voicing the state’s willingness to accept refugees evacuated during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The welcome also applies to Afghan nationals who worked with U.S. forces and now hold Special Immigrant Visas.
“As concerned members of the California congressional delegation, we write to express our urgent concern for the safe relocation of Afghan refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants and voice our strong support for the placement of these vulnerable individuals fleeing Afghanistan in our state,” according to the letter.
The letter adds, “We are indebted to our Afghan partners, many of whom aided the U.S. military and diplomatic efforts as translators, drivers, contractors, and allies in the region. They saved American lives, and it is of the utmost importance that we utilize every tool at our disposal to protect them and provide them safe harbor.”
Also signing the letter were Reps. Adam Schiff, Ted Lieu, Pete Aguilar, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Karen Bass, Julia Brownley, Tony Cárdenas, Judy Chu, Lou Correa, Mark DeSaulnier, Anna G. Eshoo, Jimmy Gomez, Jared Huffman, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Mike Levin, Zoe Lofgren, Alan Lowenthal, Jerry McNerney, Grace Napolitano, Scott Peters, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Linda T. Sánchez, and Juan Vargas.
Last Friday, Swalwell — who represents the 15th congressional district, which includes Dublin, Pleasanton, and Livermore — further spoke on the U.S. evacuation topic during his first in-person townhall at the Castro Valley High School football stadium. He told reporters that he has personally been in “constant contact with a number of Afghan interpreters” who have helped the U.S.
“I just met with a family in Castro Valley who has a student at Castro Valley High School, and they have grandparents over in Kabul right now, who are in hiding because of their fear,” Swalwell said. “This has touched us in a unique way. The best thing we can do as a community, once they get here, is to show them the open hearts, the open minds, and the open arms that they will need, because they will have left everything, and they will be coming here with nothing.”
