It has now been three years since the fall of Kabul. Three years since the Taliban took over the country and hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals fled their homeland in search of a safe place to raise their families and rebuild their lives.
The Afghan people did not choose to leave behind their homeland but were forced to like so many before them.
“I had a great life back in Afghanistan,” a 29-year-old Afghan asylum seeker currently living in the UK told PA Media. “I was working with humanitarian organizations and in the development sector. I was also working as a volunteer.”
After the Taliban takeover, however, it became impossible for Afghans to live freely or safely. Girls are now banned from attending school. Poverty has nearly doubled. Arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings are commonplace. The threats of violence and persecution are woven into daily life.
There is a diverse array of experiences within the Afghan evacuee community. While some are subject to violence and hatred in their new homes, others experience welcome and kindness. In many cases it is a mixture of both.
I had the pleasure of helping to stand-up the welcoming efforts on our military bases as evacuees were brought to the U.S. and was able to meet so many of these incredible U.S. allies. I met remarkably dedicated individuals and families reeling from the loss of their lives in Afghanistan yet ready to contribute to our country with their skills and talents.
Here in the U.S., we have a long history of welcoming refugees. We remain the country with the largest resettlement program in the world and have been a leader in the global community for decades, welcoming those who are looking for safety after they are forced to flee precarity at home. Our country’s refugee community has made America more vibrant, innovative and prosperous.
In the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, 70,000 people were brought to the U.S. to begin the resettlement process. Today, there are even more who have come to our country for refuge.
But three years after arriving in the U.S., Afghans who were evacuated amid the Taliban takeover still face a harrowing level of uncertainty, because Congress has failed to create a path to permanent legal status for this community.
Because they were not resettled through the traditional refugee process, Afghan evacuees — many of whom risked their lives working with the U.S. military in their home country — have no clear way to obtain permanent residency or citizenship in their new home.
Although the Biden administration has tried to help this population by expanding humanitarian parole, legislative action from Congress is the only real path to permanent change for Afghan evacuees in the U.S. The bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, for example, would offer a solution by providing a path to permanent citizenship, while expanding the efforts for those Afghans left behind. There is massive support for such legislation, including from national security leaders on the Council on National Security and Immigration. Yet we see almost no movement on such legislation, forcing those who have already been through so much to wait out their limbo.
Despite this uncertainty, Afghan evacuees have built new lives in the U.S. They’ve joined our schools, neighborhoods, workplaces and churches. While we see so many stories of American welcome, we also see the individuals and families that still await permanent solutions, even after their long and difficult journeys.
During the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, our military relied on Afghan men and women to assist our efforts and provide important skills such as translation. Through the work of many Afghan nationals, the lives of U.S. troops were saved.
Our Afghan allies deserve stability. As we mark three years since the evacuation of those who risked their lives to assist us, Congress must pay heed and do right by these heroes and their families. The Afghan Adjustment Act is an opportunity for bipartisan action that upholds our nation’s legacy of welcome, allows Afghans to fully resettle and contribute to their new communities, and shows the world that when it comes to our allies across the world, we keep our word.
Jennie Murray is president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum.
