Thread by @donmoyn

Interpreters in Iraq signed up to work with the US military. They put on uniforms, lived on a base, saved US lives, earned the loyalty of the troops around them. They made themselves targets. Then, the US refused to help them. 1/
nbcnews.com/politics/immig…

Congress passed laws to allow Iraqis who worked with the US to seek safety in the US. The Bush and Obama administration put administrative burdens in place to slow down that process, making the process incredibly slow and onerous. People died waiting. 2/ thisamericanlife.org/499/taking-nam…

Under Trump, things have become much worse. Consistent with his anti-Muslim and anti-refugee policy, the trickle has virtually stopped.
Iraqi refugees admitted to the U.S. in 2016: 9,880
In 2018: 140

Interpreters admitted in 2016: 325
In 2018: 2.

There are so many sad lessons from this.
First, it shows the way bureaucracies use administrative burdens to defy legislation promises they are charged with keeping.
Second, it hurts military security by making it harder to recruit in the future. 4/
npr.org/2019/05/01/718…

Third, bureaucracies are motivated by blame avoidance, to the point that interpreters who had shown loyalty to the US were treated as potential terrorists.
Fourth, the immigrant hostility of the Trump admin is clearly influencing bureaucratic decisions. 5/
thisamericanlife.org/607/didnt-we-s…

When you listen to the stories of those who risked their lives for the US, it is hard not to feel outrage and shame. Sarah was not only an interpreter but an an extraordinarily effective intelligence agent. 6/
npr.org/2019/05/01/718…

Sarah was such an effective US asset that militants nicknamed her "the Lion." They killed her husband as retribution. Thats when she decided she had to take her kids and leave.
After 8 yrs in the application process, her visa was denied. 7/ thisamericanlife.org/607/didnt-we-s…