Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FFPAA)

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Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FFPAA)

We request that UUs and individuals motivated by UU values participate in our campaign to support our Afghan allies. We are at a critical time for those who were evacuated to the U.S. after helping our forces in Afghanistan and standing up for human rights in their war-torn country.

After much negotiation in favor of adjustment for Afghan allies, a bipartisan group of Senators is trying to attach an important amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment, in the form of new legislation, includes many provisions of the previously proposed Afghanistan Adjustment Act (AAA). The amendment is the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FFPAA), which contains proposals cleared by the relevant committee chairs and ranking members.

We need the FPAAA to be among the NDAA amendments. When the Senate returns from recess, as “must-pass legislation,” the NDAA is expected to be among the first elements of legislative negotiation.

We must voice our support early and firmly, marshaling UU voices across the U.S. and from every state.

Related News Coverage:

When the US left Kabul, these Americans tried to help Afghans left behind. It still haunts them, The Frederick News-Post
Afghanistan 3 years later: Many remain in limbo, feeling let down, The Hill
Haunted by Afghans left behind, The Alpena News
3 years after the fall of Kabul, Afghan refugees in Vermont are still in limbo, Valley News
They fled Afghanistan. In the US, they have freedom – but fear a return, The Guardian
Three years after Kabul’s fall, veterans still helping allies left behind, WaPo
How The ‘Afghanistan Generation’ Of US Veterans Responded To The 2021 Withdrawal, The Hoover Institution

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Brief History And Background

1. In the Summer of 2021, the United States, with its allies, evacuated over 122,000 Afghans as their government collapsed in the face of a Taliban offensive. More than 86,000 Afghan refugees were brought to the United States. Despite determined efforts by UUSJ and many faith-based and veteran service organization allies, these refugees have languished in the United States without a guarantee of permanent residency. They are here on a humanitarian parole status, which provides no ability for them to develop long-term plans for themselves and their families. Many of these people have started the laborious and lengthy process of obtaining asylum. Still, many thousands of these refugees remain in a very tenuous status despite the vital support they provided to the United States government and military forces in the 20-year Afghan War.

2. In the Summer of 2022, a bipartisan solution to the lack of permanent residency called the Afghanistan Adjustment Act (AAA) was presented by six Senators (evenly divided between parties). Numerous Senators and Congress members from both parties backed the Bill. A companion piece of legislation called the Afghan Allies Protection Act (AAPA) was passed in 2009 — that legislation created a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which enabled Afghans who we had employed to come to the United States and enter a path to citizenship. SIVs are the primary tool for getting people still trapped in Afghanistan or its neighboring countries to the US. They are essential for family reunification. However, the AAPA requires annual reauthorization and an annual SIV increase to meet the need. The proposed AAA provided additional routes to citizenship and broadened the categories of Afghans eligible for SIV to include those not directly employed by the U.S. but who provided very valuable service (e.g., Afghan Air Force and Afghan Special Forces) to US forces.

3. In 2023, initial concerns about the adequacy of vetting procedures existed, but these were resolved to the satisfaction of Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Committee. After that, he and Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) became the primary proponents for this legislation in the Senate. Unfortunately, despite strong support from many members of both parties in Congress and strenuous efforts to attach the AAA to numerous must-pass pieces of legislation, adjustment for Afghans has not succeeded in Congress.

4. In 2024, the best chance for Afghan adjustment is currently deemed to be the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) negotiations.

UU Grounding

As of General Assembly 2024, as Unitarian Universalists, we have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. (Read more on the Article II revision process.)

With these agreed core religious values in mind, we also ground our call for action in support of Afghan allies in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements of Conscience and Actions of Immediate Witness:

Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) with a Pathway to Permanent Residence, 2023 Action of Immediate Witness
Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 Statement of Conscience
Protect the Rights of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers, 2019 Action of Immediate Witness
End Family Separation and Detention of Asylum Seekers and Abolish ICE, 2018 Action of Immediate Witness
Build Solidarity with our Muslim Neighbors, 2016 Action of Immediate Witness
End Immigrant Child and Family Detention Now, 2015 Action of Immediate Witness
Immigration as a Moral Issue, 2013 Statement of Conscience

Tell Your Senator To Support

Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FFPAA)

We need the FPAAA to be among the NDAA amendments. When the Senate returns from recess, as “must-pass legislation,” the NDAA is expected to be among the first elements of legislative negotiation.

We must voice our support early and firmly, marshaling UU voices across the U.S. and from every state.

Senate: Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FFPAA) Sept. 2024

Subject: Support the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, Amendment 2682

Message:

I am requesting your support for the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FFPAA), particularly its inclusion as Amendment 2682 to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This is essential to support our Afghan allies, who were evacuated to the United States after helping our forces and standing up for human rights in their war-torn country. I am writing as a person of faith whose values ask me to respect the decency and basic needs of all. I am also called to support FFPAA for patriotic and national security considerations. In 2021, the U.S. and its allies evacuated over 122,000 Afghans as their country’s government collapsed in the face of a Taliban offensive. These refugees were primarily people and their families who had rendered vital assistance to and, in many cases, had saved the lives of U.S. servicemen and women. Over 86,000 of these refugees were brought to the U.S. Since then, they have been in our country with no guarantee of permanent residency. They are on humanitarian parole and, as such, are unable to plan for the long-term care and safety of themselves and their families. I feel our nation owes a debt of honor to those who bravely supported our forces in that 20-year war, and I hear from the veterans and military families in my community networks that they agree. Members of the Unitarian Universalist community have served in our armed forces, welcomed Afghans, and cared deeply about this issue. Universal Unitarians for Social Justice (UUSJ) has worked with various faith-based groups and veteran service organizations for over two years to gain adjustment and permanent residency for these Afghan Allies. Our initial efforts were focused on the Afghanistan Adjustment Act (AAA). A bipartisan bill endorsed by many Members of Congress (of both parties). It would have ensured the “gold standard” of vetting was applied to all applicants for permanent residency under that Bill. This proposed act has now been superseded by FFPAA, which incorporates the key features of the AAA and is now under consideration in the Senate as an amendment to the FY 2025 NDAA. Amendments must be adopted to meet our commitments to our allies in the Afghan War and help veterans complete the mission. I ask you to support Amendment 2682. The FFPAA is fully described here: https://www.congress.gov/amendment/118th-congress/senate-amendment/2682/text I believe it is vital to support our allies and meet our nation’s commitments to them by ensuring that Amendment 2682 is incorporated into the FY 2025 NDAA.

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