Photo Courtesy of Rep. Meng
“My heart aches for this family and my staff and I are pushing the State Department to get them to Queens,” Rep. Meng said.
By Forum Staff
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) announced Tuesday that she is pleading with the U.S. State Department to bring a Queens constituent back home with his family after they all left Afghanistan.
Bilal Ahmad is a U.S. citizen who resides in Fresh Meadows. Over the summer, his wife and 5-year-old son were in Kabul, Afghanistan with loved ones when it fell to the Taliban. Ahmed traveled there to bring the two to Queens but was unable to get them out during the U.S. withdrawal. The family made it to the United Arab Emirates and the three of them have been living in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Humanitarian City as Ahmad’s wife and child continue to wait for temporary visas.
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia/Ctac
The Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations has oversight of the State Department’s (pictured) budget and activities.
Meng has intervened with the State Department urging the agency to accelerate the issuing of the visas, and she is calling for Ahmad to not lose his job after his employer told him that he had to be back at work by a certain date this month. He is also in jeopardy of losing his apartment and a part-time job as a driver if he is not back in New York soon.
“My heart aches for this family and my staff and I are pushing the State Department to get them to Queens,” said Meng, vice chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. “Bilal went to Afghanistan to ensure the well-being of his family and to bring them to safety here. Months later, they should still not be stuck overseas, and his livelihood should not be at risk because he sought to keep his wife and child out of harm’s way. We will continue to stay on top of the State Department to help get him home with them.”
The Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations has oversight of the State Department’s budget and activities.
