• In a letter Monday, 14 military and veterans groups urged Congress not to pass the Afghanistan Adjustment Act, a bill aimed at expediting permanent residency for Afghans fleeing the Taliban.
• The bill would also grant residency status to those who do not directly support US missions in Afghanistan and expand the eligibility of Afghans to enter the US at any time after the bill is enacted.
• “Granting blanket permanent residency to Afghans who were lucky enough to just get on a plane to the United States, regardless of their previous relationship with the U.S. government, would make the war in Afghanistan cheaper for Americans and Americans,” the letter said.

The military and veterans’ groups have voiced their opposition to a bill recently reintroduced in the House and Senate that would open a “comprehensive” path to permanent U.S. residency for all Afghans who fled their homeland after the Taliban occupation.

bipartisan Afghanistan Adjustment Act (AAA) and its colleagues in the House of Representatives will expedite treatment toward full residency status for tens of thousands of Afghans who temporarily fled to the United States for humanitarian reasons after the U.S. withdrawal, and other evacuees who may eventually remain in the United States.. In a letter sent Monday and obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, 14 military and veterans’ organizations urged Congress to repeal or amend the bill, arguing that the bill’s broad provisions allow them to obtain permanent residency regardless of whether they directly supported the U.S. military.

“While we all believe that the United States must live up to its promises to Afghans employed by and on behalf of the United States government in roles such as military interpreters, we believe the current Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program is poorly constructed, worse implemented and desperately in need of reform,” groups such as the Defense Commission American GI Forum and the Hunter Seven Foundation wrote.

“Granting blanket permanent residency to Afghans who were lucky enough to just get on a plane to the United States, regardless of their previous relationship with the U.S. government, would make the war in Afghanistan cheaper for Americans and Americans,” the letter said.

Biden administration Involved After the full military withdrawal in August 2021, it is to lead to safety the allies of Afghanistan, the thousands of civilians who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan by interpreting and assisting with their families. (Related article: ‘Honesty is key’: Afghanistan pitfalls could be replicated in Ukraine, watchdog finds)

About 72,000 Afghans who came to the United States on humanitarian parole as of March 2022 are ineligible to apply for a green card, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). report. A certain percentage of these seek to obtain a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and may apply for a green card along with an already obtained SIV when evacuated. Latest date as of April 2022 data More than 33,000 Afghan evacuees have applied for SIV despite the availability of SIV, further adding to the existing backlog.

The rest have no clear path to permanent residency, the CRS report said.

The AAA would allow parolees to apply for green cards like SIV holders, and would open U.S. immigration to Afghans so long as they “directly and personally support” the U.S. mission after passage of the bill. We will also expand the SIV program to include specific groups associated with the former Afghan military.

The bill goes far beyond U.S. promises to repay the Afghans who supported U.S. troops, retired Navy Capt. Bob Carey, who organized the letter and chaired the National Defense Committee, told DCNF.

“If we have a moral obligation, why not let people in from Cambodia or Nigeria or similarly war-torn countries,” he asked. “It’s not in our national interest.”

The AAA “goes far beyond the simple reform of the Special Immigrant Visa Program for Afghans in partnership with the U.S. government, and instead provides comprehensive permanent residency for all Afghans in the U.S., regardless of whether they have supported the U.S. government’s operations in Afghanistan,” the letter said.

Additional strain on the immigration system could exacerbate the potential for security breaches, the letter warns.

Two Inspector General Reports found Serious flaws in the screening process for Afghan parolees and SIV holders. In some cases, the US government “erroneously qualifies ineligible Afghan refugees for SIV or parole” without a clear understanding of the security risks. The administration has hospitalized or paroled dozens of evacuees who were reported as concerns in U.S. databases. according to For a Department of Homeland Security audit.

Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar Sponsored The Senate version was signed on July 13 by four additional Democrats and five Republicans as cosponsors. In the House version, the equivalent, introduced On the same day, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa delivered a speech, attracting nearly a dozen co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.

A version of the AAA was proposed in 2022, but efforts to include it in the annual National Defense Authorization Bill, which must pass in 2023, fell through.

He has just delivered a speech to the floor to include an amendment to the bipartisan Afghanistan Adjustments Act on the Defense Bill. It should be called the COVENANT bill. We will keep our promises to those who have stood with us. we have a vote Vote required.

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) July 20, 2023

About 15,000 remaining SIVs are authorized for Afghan partners as of April 2023, according to the State Department report.

If nothing happens, tens of thousands of Afghans could lose their temporary protection status in the United States unless the administration decides. re-up their parole status.

Many military and veteran lobby groups, such as the American Legion, the Foreign War Veterans (VFW), and the Blue Star Families, are active as well. written Congress supports AAA.

Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton introduced another bill. measurement Also on July 13, three Republican co-sponsors gave vetted Afghans a path to permanent residency, but ruled out the expansion of SIV by the AAA for at-risk overseas Afghans to come to the United States. according to to roll call. Instead, it will crack down on the Biden administration’s ability to grant temporary parole to Afghans while also granting these Afghans special refugee status.

Both bills are being considered for inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, Roll Call reported. Opponents have accused Mr. Cotton of trying to reform immigration through the bill, jeopardizing the passage of any bill.

“NDAA is not an immigration bill,” Carey told DCNF. Passage of “Nothing Better than the Afghanistan Adjustment Act”.

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