Tell Congress to Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act

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Tell Congress to Pass an Afghan Adjustment Act and provide a Safe Existence to Afghan Evacuees

What issue does the Afghan Adjustment Act exist to solve? With the end of the United States military involvement in Afghanistan and the fall of the country’s capital of Kabul, the United States airlifted tens of thousands of Afghan persons, many of them children, to safety from persecution and violence. After experiencing often heartbreaking and harrowing ordeals to escape and secure safety for themselves and their families, most evacuees in the United States continue to live in legal limbo. They were typically granted initial protection through “humanitarian parole,” time-limited protection with no path to citizenship, and may be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

What does an Afghan Adjustment Act do to fix this? The Afghan Adjustment Act allows certain Afghans who reside in the United States and have passed the requisite security checks a clear pathway to permanent status, circumventing the need for Afghan evacuees to go through the current inadequate processes to get permanent residency. In the past, the United States has implemented similar adjustments for those fleeing repression in Vietnam, Cuba, the USSR, and Iraq.

Why do we need an Afghan Adjustment Act now? Humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status are, by nature, temporary, so time is running out for the evacuees. It is urgent to provide them with a path to permanent status, so they are not in danger of deportation. Evacuees face struggles because of their current status, and the instability and isolation of the current situation have often taken a heavy mental toll. Their status must be changed as soon as possible to provide them stability and a chance to sponsor and reunite with family still in Afghanistan. Further, given the coming processing and resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, immediately finding a solution for the Afghan evacuees’ situation is necessary to prevent a further breakdown.

Why are current programs for Afghan evacuees inadequate? Right now, the Afghan evacuees' most plausible paths to permanent status are either the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) or the asylum program. The complex processes of applying for both these programs impose substantial burdens on evacuees, the government, and aid organizations and would likely exclude many Afghan evacuees.

The SIV program, designed for Afghans that worked directly or indirectly for the United States government, requires specific documentation often no longer available to the applicants. Often, evacuees left these documents when they made the dangerous journey to escape Afghanistan, fearing the documents would cause them to be identified at a Taliban checkpoint. Further, many of the contractors that employed these evacuees on behalf of the United States government no longer exist and cannot perform key functions in supporting evacuees’ applications. Tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees, including the families of SIV holders that worked with the United States government, are not eligible for SIV status.

The asylum process is equally backlogged, and Afghan evacuees face the difficulty of providing specific evidence of individual persecution — such as proof of Taliban knowledge of their work for the United States. They typically are unable to obtain such evidence. Most evacuees lack access to legal counsel, making navigating the arduous asylum procedure even more difficult.

Learn more about ways you can support refugees and asylum seekers as an individual or as part of a congregational group with UUSC:

Congregational Accompaniment Project for Asylum-Seekers

We Must Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act to provide a Safe Existence for Afghan Evacuees

The Afghan Adjustment Act would allow certain Afghans who reside in the United States and have passed the requisite security checks a clear pathway to permanent status, circumventing the need for Afghan evacuees to go through the current inadequate processes to get permanent residency. In the past, the United States has implemented similar adjustments for those fleeing repression in Vietnam, Cuba, the USSR, and Iraq.

Both Chambers, pass the Afghan Adjustment Act

Subject: Introduce the Afghan Adjustment Act

Message:

I urge you to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act (SB 4787 and HB 6585) now! I make this request grounded in my faith, as a Unitarian Universalist and member of Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ). With the end of the United States’ military involvement in Afghanistan and the fall of the country’s capital of Kabul, the United States airlifted tens of thousands of Afghans, many of them children, to safety from persecution and violence. Many of these Afghans helped the United States troops to survive in that war-ravaged country amidst hostile and extremely difficult conditions. We should assist them, they assisted us. The AAA can do this. Further, it is basic to our sense of justice that we confer a path to permanent residence status on the people who risked so much to help the United States troops in this failed war. The current web of options available to some of them is complex and, ultimately, can still leave many to face deportation. Inaction constitutes a moral failure and undermines our ability to gather allies for future needs. The AAA can mitigate this. The first principle of our faith expresses a belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This directs us to seek a better and more just world for all people of whatever nationality they may be. In that vein, and in the spirit of justice and compassion for these refugees and asylees who were so crucial to this twenty-year war, we urge you to introduce, cosponsor and promote the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) before any more insecurity and hazards befall the Afghan people living amongst us and seeking shelter after years of service to our efforts in-country. We owe them at least that much.

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We Must Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act to provide a Safe Existence for Afghan Evacuees

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