Making the Case for Afghan Adjustment

The Racial Politics of Post-War Status Adjustment

Bibliographic Data

ID18969552
AuthorsNeha Lund (0000-0002-3439-391X, Brown University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume12
Issue1
Pages15-29
Publication date2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology of Race and Ethnicity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2332-6492 • E-ISSN: 2332-6506
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/23326492251327954
OpenAlexW4409442945
LanguageEN
References cited50

Scholars of race and immigration have previously situated immigration policies as racial projects. Recently, a wave of Afghan immigrants were evacuated to the United States following the culmination of the 20-year War in Afghanistan, generating extensive debate in the public and legislative sphere regarding opportunities for legal incorporation, most notably through the introduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act. In this article, combining semi-structured interviews, original document analysis, and ethnographic observations, I show how Afghan adjustment is largely framed, even by well-meaning advocates, through the construction of the Afghan “ally” as trustworthy and exceptional. In the process, the Afghan ally is racialized as an “imperial model minority” who is deserving of legal incorporation and able to gain the political support of actors who are typically hostile to expanding immigration rights. Ultimately, this racial project structures claims of belonging in the nation-state and expands theoretical notions of model minority racialization in the sociology of race and ethnicity, highlighting how legacies of empire can shape notions of deservingness

Afghan · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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