On the day before Thanksgiving in Clarkston, Georgia, staff from the nonprofit Refugee Women’s Network delivered boxes of food and household supplies to the apartments of new arrivals. Answering one door was Shakila Aimaq, 31, a medical school graduate who had recently fled Afghanistan with 18 family members including her father, a parliamentarian who feared retribution from the new Taliban government.

Three and a half months after leaving the Afghan capital, Kabul, the refugees had arrived the night before at the suburban Atlanta apartment, where local volunteers had left greeting cards and chocolates. “From my whole family I want to thank you,” Aimaq said, addressing not just those who had provided the welcome gifts but the United States at large. “We