On this episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Sima Alizadeh, an Iranian-born Senior Immigration Attorney at Pars Equality Center, a nonprofit organization that assists low-income Middle Eastern and South Asian communities of the Bay Area and Los Angeles, with legal and social services. She is a graduate of U.C. Hastings Law School and has been aiding the Afghan community for the last 10 years. She leads the Pars Afghan Support Project which is committed to matching Afghan nationals with volunteers to help with the filing of humanitarian parole applications, and assist in evacuations and perform strong congressional advocacy work. In her role with the Afghan Support Project, Sima recruits and trains Pars volunteers and attorneys nationwide, and matches them with cases. Sima is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and has served as AILA faculty at various conferences. She is currently on the AILA Afghan Task Force creating relevant material for, and responses to, the crisis.
In this podcast, Sima explains what is going on in Afghanistan and how Afghans are attempting to flee the country to safety. She delves into the different ways that people are leaving and what can be done to aid Afghan nationals.
“We are witnessing an exodus. We are watching a humanitarian crisis occur with individuals desperately needing to leave a militant nation. It’s an overnight catastrophe.”
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PARS Equality Center has received hundreds of inquiries and is in need of assistance from attorneys, volunteers, translators, and anyone with a devotion to those in need. If upon listening to this episode, you are inclined to help, you can find more information about volunteering or donating here. You can also check out their Facebook Fundraiser and make a contribution. Further, lawyers, volunteers, and firms can offer to assist with the humanitarian parole applications by emailing Afghansupport@parsequalitycenter.org .
You can follow PARS Equality Center on Facebook and Instagram, or connect directly via their website.
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