Thank Your Members of Congress and Ask for More Support of the Afghan Adjustment Act
Many of Our Afghan Neighbors Are Still in Limbo
In July 2023, a large bipartisan group of legislators reintroduced the Afghan Adjustment Act (H.R.4627/S.2327). While this movement continues to grow, the allies of those who fought alongside and supported our troops in the twenty-year Afghan War are still waiting for the family reunification, safety, peace of mind and permanency this bill could provide. Write your members of Congress now to thank them for their support and urge swift action by the end of the year to end this agonizing legal limbo for so many.
Following the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, more than 130,000 Afghans were evacuated. Almost half of those evacuees were children. After significant vetting in third world countries and military bases, Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) worked with local resettlement agencies and communities to bring approximately 70,000 of those evacuees here to the U.S. to live as our neighbors under the temporary status of humanitarian parole.
Over two years later, tens of thousands of our new Afghan neighbors are still living in uncertainty and fear. Some still wait to evacuate, while others must renew their humanitarian parole status while waiting for other status applications to be considered, most of them temporary and/or backlogged solutions. In addition, as of October 1, 2023, newly arrived Afghan parolees no longer receive the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) funding they need to rebuild their lives in their new homes.
Hope for the Future
In July 2023, the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) was reintroduced in the House (H.R. 4627) and Senate (S. 2327) with strong bipartisan support. With Congress largely in political gridlock, we need the AAA included in a spending bill such as the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) by the end of the year.
The AAA is similar to other adjustment legislation following past armed and humanitarian conflicts, such as the Vietnam War. It ensures Afghans we brought to safety may apply for lasting protection to continue to live and work in the U.S. It also provides humanitarian parolees and other Afghan refugees -- particularly women and children -- a pathway to permanent legal status in order to help them escape Taliban rule and reunite with their families.
Take Action
We need your help to let your legislators know the AAA is still important to you and you want to see it signed into law by the end of the year in order to maintain national security, honor the sacrifices of our veterans, and fully welcome our new neighbors to our communities.
First, use this tool to thank your legislators who are cosponsors of the bill. Let them know you appreciate their leadership and would like to see this bill passed:
1. Enter your address, then select the group "Thank cosponsors."
2. Follow the prompts to write and send a "thank you" letter. (If no legislators show up on your list, see the next steps.)
Important: You have three legislators (two senators and one representative) who have the power to support this bill. Come back to this page again to encourage the rest of them to step up:
1. Enter your address, then select the group "Ask to support AAA."
2. Follow the prompts to write and send an "ask letter" to your legislators who are not yet cosponsors.