Westchester Rallies for Immigrants and Refugees

In a recent Westchester rally in White Plains, people gathered to speak out and stand up for the rights of immigrants and refugees. Attendees heard from County Legislature David Imamura a well as leaders from Open Arms for Refugees, Our Common Beliefs, Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, Dominican Sisters of Hope, Team TLC NYC, and our very own Frank Pierson from Neighbors for Refugees.

Because a public gathering like this is not safe for refugees, community members spoke out on their behalf. Frank shared the story of an Afghan family that was scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in February, but their visa were canceled by our government.

"I am here for H and his family stuck in Pakistan. H’s father, mother, sister and two brothers with their families fled to Pakistan after the fall of Kabul. Once there, they completed the painstaking process of getting visas to come to the U.S. and were all set to leave in early February, but their approved tickets were cancelled by Presidential order on January 20. The order said it was a "pause" in processing refugees, so they hoped for the best. But the pause has never been lifted and now the president talks of a 'permanent pause.'

Eleven months later, they are still in limbo. With the U.S. refusing to take any more Afghan refugees, Pakistan is deporting them back to Afghanistan. The family now lives in fear of being deported. Given the work the father and sons did, a return to Afghanistan surely means prison. When they knew they were leaving Pakistan, they sold everything they could, but that money has run out. Today, since they cannot work, they are surviving on money sent to them from friends here in the U.S. They can’t go anywhere else, so they despair that they will be stuck in Pakistan for a long time to come. To make a horrific situation worse, H is now worried that he may be deported by the U.S. government."

Westchester rallies for immigrants and refugees on Dec. 4, 2025