Pangea Legal Services

Hi all - I've been working with Afghan organizers on a project called Project ANAR. It is focused on helping Afghans file expedited humanitarian parole applications -- we've put together training materials, resources, and guides, along with pairing up hundreds of Afghans in need with hundreds of volunteer attorneys. You can take a look at some of our work here: https://www.projectanar.org/ 

Now, we need help paying for the filing fees! Each applicant (even if they are part of the same family) must pay a $575 processing fee - for many Afghans, that means paying thousands of dollars for their families. We need your help! The funds will be funneled through Pangea Legal Services to the families in need and will help cover the filing fee and the mailing costs for applications. More information on Pangea and this project below. Thank you!

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Pangea (San Francisco/San Jose, CA) and Centro Legal (Oakland, CA) are working with Afghan community organizers to process hundreds of Afghan humanitarian parole requests. As you've seen on the news, the situation on the ground is that people are having a hard time getting to the airport and even once there, it's chaos. There are planes leaving and various task forces that have been stood up by the State Department and DOD to get individuals cleared for those planes.

Most organizations who are dedicated to Afghanistan right now are focusing on former American military people and their affiliates. We are focusing on everyone else. We have ~9000 humanitarian parole applicants and ~1100 attorneys from across the country offering to help. We organized a WebEx training on Monday 8/23 for the legal volunteers, and are reaching out to the people in Afghanistan to find out who has sponsors and is ready for a humanitarian parole application (https://www.projectanar.org/resources/parole-checklist). Our goal is to help as many sponsors as possible submit humanitarian parole applications (pro se) as quickly as possible to USCIS. Then, we plan to advocate directly with the State Department and DOD task forces to prioritize these applicants.

More information about Pangea Legal Services: Pangea's mission is to provide deportation defense services, advocate for policy change, and provide education and legal empowerment for our immigrant communities.

Photo credit: Khyber Khan. Instagram: @khyberkhan

Right now, there is an urgent need to help cover the cost of Humanitarian Parole application fees for Afghans entering the US, which is an immigration mechanism that allows entry to the United States to apply for asylum. This is the only path forward for most Afghans attempting entry.

Each person’s application costs $575 USD - which also means full family applications are expensive. A family of four will need for example $2300 USD to process their application.

With your help, our goal is to cover the cost of at least 300 Afghan applicants to Humanitarian Parole. We are fundraising for San Francisco non-profit Pangea Legal Services who are working tirelessly to offer free legal services to Afghans entering the US. Pangea has teamed up with Project Anar, in San Francisco, a legal non-profit that is leading the effort to offer legal services to the Afghans in-need. Project Anar has received over 9,000 requests for Humanitarian Parole application support from Afghans.

Every day the number of requests Pangea gets for this type of help is increasing. By contributing to this fundraiser you are directly helping individuals and families begin the process of rebuilding their lives.

What is Humanitarian Parole?

Humanitarian parole is a pathway for entry to the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. It is usually granted when someone has no other alternatives for entry and is typically a last option. Afghans who do not have valid immigration status upon arriving in the United States are allowed to enter for a temporary period through “humanitarian parole”. It’s critical right now for many Afghans fleeing to the US.

How did we get here?

President Biden’s target date for a complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was set for August 31st. In the wake of this, Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban, which is resulting in a dire situation for the entire population of Afghanistan. The Taliban is going to re-impose religious laws that prevent women and girls from being educated or in the workforce. Any Afghans and their families who have been affiliated with US or coalition operations in Afghanistan since 2001 are going to also suffer intense retribution in the form of murder and torture. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports that over 300,000 people had affiliations.

Furthermore, the Taliban targeted marginalized communities such as Shia and Hazara populations. Civic society has already been decimated because they are targeted too. This includes journalists, women leaders, human rights defenders, social media influencers as well as other activists and anyone outspoken against Taliban rule on social media or otherwise.

This has resulted in a situation where approximately 250,000 to one million Afghans are trying to flee the country. Half a million are already internally displaced within the country. One-third run the risk of starvation due to a historically bad drought. All of this along with the Covid-19 pandemic and Taliban rule is ensuring a humanitarian disaster in the making.

The United States has not offered many other options for non-American passport holders from Afghanistan than applying for Humanitarian Parole as their entry pathway into the United States.

More about your donation:

100% of your donations will be going directly to San Francisco based Pangea Legal Services, a registered 501(c) (3) or non-profit that is providing legal representation and support to Afghans entering the US.  Pangea has teamed up with Project Anar , in San Francisco, a legal non-profit that is leading the effort to offer legal services to the Afghans in-need. Your donations will help move these urgent applications forward.

Who are the people running this fundraiser?

We are a group of individuals - community builders, writers, lawyers, activists, regular people- coming together to mobilize our personal networks in order to aid in the moving forward of the literal thousands of applications that need fees paid for.

PLEASE SHARE AND SPREAD THE WORD about this fundraising campaign. If you work for a company that matches, please let us know. Pangea Legal is a vetted and listed matching non-profit on YourCause, which many companies use to determine matching eligibility - please check. We are so thankful for any contribution!

More about Pangea Legal:

Pangea Legal launched in 2013 to help fill the great need for the representation of immigrants in both, detained and non-detained, immigration courts. Pangea takes cases that others think are unwinnable, and with creativity, collaboration with partners, and persistence, win them almost every time.

Pangea currently employs 16 full-time employees (FTEs), 3 regular contractors, and has 5-20 interns, DREAMSF fellows, and calls upon volunteers to support their efforts.

2020 Pangea Highlights:

• 469 clients received full scope legal services in the US even in light of many cases for court hearings being cancelled due to the pandemic.

•Pangea was a leader in creating and establishing Rapid Response Networks in the Bay Area and statewide post the 2016 elections and has continued to build on these networks in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. These efforts were enacted to prevent the deportation of residents.

•Filed one of the first COVID-19 habeas petitions, which won freedom for a client who had been unfairly imprisoned by ICE for over 4 years.

• 6 impact litigation cases: Pangea sued the federal government in 6 impact litigation cases to protect classes of immigrants nationwide (and were successful at each stage so far).

• 85 appellate cases: filed or received decisions in 85 appeals for individuals at USCIS, DHS, Federal District Court, the BIA, and Ninth Circuit courts of appeal.

• 50 work permits received (out of 53 requested), and 13 adjustments of status granted (out of 13 filed).

• Worked with over 25 nonprofits, legal service organizations, and other partners across the US to create public campaigns to prevent wrongful deportations and family separation.

The beneficiary of this campaign is the 501(c)(3), Pangea Legal Services , EIN: 36-4748424

Disclaimer: Because this situation is changing rapidly, if for any reason the need or circumstances around Humanitarian Parole fees change ---- 100% of your donations will still be going to Pangea Legal and be used for legal services that work towards furthering the legal status of Afghans entering the US.

Thank you!!