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.
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