Afghan Adjustment Act would aid those who backed U.S. mission

In August 2021, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, the U.S. evacuated many Afghans who had been U.S. allies and were at grave, life-threatening risk. Some 90,000 Afghan men, women and children reached the United States and restarted their lives. They are being resettled with the help of government agencies, refugee organizations, veterans groups, employers and individuals who care, including Upwardly Global, where I serve as a member of the D.C. Leadership Council.

I live in Baltimore and as an immigrant to the U.S. myself, I understand how scary the uncertainty must be for immigrants such as many of those from Afghanistan. While their legal status in the U.S. is uncertain, they are facing the looming possibility of struggle, unemployment and deportation. That is unfair, and it impedes their ability to resettle, including finding work in the U.S. — in roles that we need filled. I am not even mentioning how much emotional stress this uncertainty can add to their traumas.

Congress now a chance to approve the Afghan Adjustment Act. The bill can provide a streamlined, prioritized adjustment process for Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, and it’s now the moral duty of the U.S. Congress to pass it. I’m writing to make sure that everyone knows the real consequences of this bill in hopes that we rally together as a country to do what is right.

Shorena Megrelishvili, Baltimore

Shorena Megrelishvili is a member of the D.C. Leadership Council at Upwardly Global.

Grove Park neighbors want help to halt sale of school building

In 2020 and 2021, the Grove Park Improvement Association worked with charter school organizations to reopen Grove Park Elementary School. But every proposal we submitted was rejected by Baltimore City Public Schools.

The school building went up for sale by the city’s Department of Housing & Community Development. Against the community’s wishes, DHCD is selling it to a commercial entity that seeks to demolish it and use the land for other purposes. District 5 Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer has not responded to written inquiries from the association regarding his stance on the sale of the Grove Park Elementary School building.

We are desperately making a call-to-action plea. We need the public’s help save the Grove Park Elementary school building. We have partnered with two nonprofit organizations that bid on the property. They are prepared to move forward with their proposals and open a school. One organization seeks to provide a community multi-purpose center open to all Baltimore residents. The other seeks to open a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade, low-tuition private school.

We are asking the public to contact Baltimore City Council members and urge them to save the Grove Park Elementary School building for the benefit of our community and our city.

Board of the Grove Park Improvement Association, Baltimore