The very same immigrants welcomed to the US after risking their lives to fight the Taliban now fear detention or worse
Ali was 25 and a pilot for the Afghan air force, just like his father before him; he arrived at the special mission wing 777 airbase in Kabul around 11am one day in August 2021.
The moment he stepped through the gates, he sensed something was wrong.
Kabul, in his mind, was untouchable. “I didn’t think it would reach Kabul,” he said in an interview by phone from his apartment in Boise, Idaho, recently.
“It” referred to the resurgence of the Taliban. The Guardian is using a pseudonym for Ali’s safety and that of his family.
