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U.S. Capitol Building on January 23, 2024.
CNN
—
As the Senate continues to consider the National Security Supplemental Funding Bill, advocates urge lawmakers to approve an amendment that would provide a path to U.S. permanent residency for Afghans displaced during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. ing.
The amendment, introduced Friday by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, would “provide certainty for Afghanistan’s allies in building a life in the United States after a thorough vetting.” “This will allow them to apply for permanent residence in order to obtain it.” News release from Klobuchar.
This builds on the bipartisan Afghanistan Adjustment Act, which was reintroduced last year. The amendment was introduced Friday by Republican Sens. Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, and Thom Tillis, as well as Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, and Jeanne Shaheen. A list of co-sponsors, including members of Congress, was submitted.
Speaking on the Senate floor Friday, Klobuchar said there are about 80,000 Afghan refugees in the United States who “work as interpreters, work as intelligence gatherers, and put their lives and the lives of their families at risk.” . Klobuchar said there is a “rigorous vetting process” for the amendment, adding that “the vast majority of these people are already here.”
“Are we going to send these people who were standing with our troops back into the arms of the Taliban?” Klobuchar said. “Or are you going to do the right thing?”
Sean Vandiver, founder of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations that helped evacuate Afghans during the 2021 withdrawal, spoke to CNN about the war in Afghanistan and said, “Our obligations to our allies are not a Republican issue. It’s not even a Democratic Party issue.”
“This is America’s problem. It’s America’s obligation. And our allies are watching too. The conflicts we face in the future will depend on how we handled the end of the Afghanistan war, and how we handled the end of the Afghanistan war. We’re going to look back at what we did with our allies,” Vandiver said.
It’s unclear whether the amendment will pass and be included in additional legislation, but supporters say it’s an important next step for Afghans who have been stuck since arriving in the U.S. after a chaotic withdrawal. .
The amendment has bipartisan support, but at least one Republican is expected to oppose it. Sen. Tom Cotton, a military veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, “disagrees with some elements of Sen. Klobuchar’s bill,” a person familiar with Klobuchar’s thinking told CNN.
Among those objections are the “lack of parole reform,” protections for Afghans that the U.S. military says have failed, and the “potential for abuse of virtually unlimited and unscrutinized family migration.” This includes, the official said.
“Sen. Cotton supports aid to our allies and partners in Afghanistan, but this particular bill did little to address his concerns,” the official said. The official also referenced a bill that Cotton introduced in July 2023, saying that Cotton “supports a version of this bill and even has his own version of this bill.”
Mr. Vandiver directly criticized Mr. Cotton in a post on We are abandoning our allies.”
Vandiver later told CNN that Cotton was using Afghans “as political pawns.”
“I remember in August 2021, Tom Cotton was talking about this and asking for help from veterans organizations to help people and get the people he worked with out of the airport gate and onto the plane. I remember that,” Vandiver said. “And he’s abandoning all the people he helped, the people who are here waiting for the Afghanistan Adjustment Act and the adjustment of status.”
Moran, ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said Saturday that many Afghan allies “remain overseas, and those who have crossed into the United States face uncertainty whether they will be granted permanent residency.” Ta.
“I urge my colleagues to include the Afghanistan Adjustment Act in the National Security Supplement to provide stability for Afghan refugees, strengthen our national security, and send a message to our partners and allies that we will honor our commitments. I urge you to support it,” Moran said.
Patrick Murray, director of the National Legislative Service for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in a statement that the VFW “is committed to ensuring that our Afghan allies serving alongside our troops are cared for and provided with the security they deserve. I hope that.”
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