February 5, 2024

Senate Bill Eviscerating Asylum Puts Afghans in Further Jeopardy

WASHINGTON, DC — Members of the Evacuate Our Allies coalition are concerned that provisions of the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 restrict and block access to the asylum system. The coalition objected to these provisions in a December 2023 letter to Congressional leadership. 

We urge Senators not to support the supplemental appropriations bill. To help at-risk Afghans, Congress should pass the Afghan Adjustment Act (H.R. 4627 and S.2327).

Evacuate our Allies’ December letter states:

“Let us be clear: We oppose any effort to negotiate away the lifeline that asylum has provided uniquely vulnerable Afghans that the U.S. government has left behind. We strongly reject any anti-asylum or third-country provisions that would restrict or block access to asylum and other protections for anyone seeking safety, including Afghans.

We urge you to support and immediately pass bipartisan Afghan adjustment legislation. We promised to stand by our allies who, often at risk to themselves and their families, served in uniform or publicly championed women’s and democratic rights against reprisals of the Taliban.

The U.S. government made a similar promise; keeping it assures that the American commitments will be upheld and credibly advocate other countries to do the same.”

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Evacuate Our Allies is a coalition of over 150 faith organizations, refugee and immigration groups, veterans and veteran service organizations, human and civil rights advocates, and Afghan American community organizations working to advance government accountability and action in fulfilling promises to provide safe passage, welcome, and protection to at-risk Afghans following the conclusion of the decades-long U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.