Blumenthal & Colleagues Call on Trump Administration to Support & Protect our Afghan Wartime Allies
[HARTFORD, CT] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, joined by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), to demand Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem provide Congress with information on how the Trump Administration’s executive orders and directives affect our Afghan wartime allies. Recent actions taken by the Administration have called into question whether the United States will stand by these partners and their families by giving them the support and assurances they need to rebuild their lives in America.
“We write with urgent concerns about potential impacts of the Administration’s recent immigration and foreign aid orders on Afghans who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan,” wrote the Senators. “Standing by those who stood with us is a matter of national interest and national honor.”
“We are already seeing the severe real-world impact these orders have on Afghan families. Flights to the United States, carrying Afghans already cleared for entry, have been canceled. Many Afghan evacuees remain in limbo on U.S. platforms in Qatar and Albania. Established policies to reunite active duty U.S. service members with their Afghan family members have been thrown into doubt, as has the future of our Afghan partners who have been paroled into the United States,” the Senators continued.
Blumenthal is a staunch fighter for ensuring Afghan allies have the aid and freedom they earned and deserve, including a path to permanent legal status under the Blumenthal-sponsored Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow Afghans who sought refuge in the United States to apply for permanent legal residency after undergoing additional vetting.
At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing last month, Blumenthal slammed the Trump Administration’s move to cancel the flights of nearly 1,660 Afghans allies, including family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, under President Donald Trump’s order suspending U.S. refugee programs.
The full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, and Secretary Noem:
We write with urgent concerns about potential impacts of the Administration’s recent immigration and foreign aid orders on Afghans who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Standing by those who stood with us is a matter of national interest and national honor.
The Administration’s actions – including the President’s executive orders on refugee admissions and foreign aid, the Department of State’s suspension of foreign assistance programs, and the Department of Homeland Security’s directive to “phase out” humanitarian parole – call into doubt whether the United States will stand by our wartime partners and their families by giving them the support and assurances they need to rebuild their lives in America.
We are already seeing the severe real-world impact these orders have on Afghan families. Flights to the United States, carrying Afghans already cleared for entry, have been canceled. Many Afghan evacuees remain in limbo on U.S. platforms in Qatar and Albania. Established policies to reunite active duty U.S. service members with their Afghan family members have been thrown into doubt, as has the future of our Afghan partners who have been paroled into the United States. Access to resettlement and placement services has been disrupted for Afghans who had lawfully arrived in the United States before January 20.
The Administration’s executive orders on refugee admissions and foreign aid provide for exceptions, and call for reviews to be conducted over a period of 90 days regarding the resumption of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and development assistance funding, respectively. But the Administration should not wait 90 days to clarify its policies and assure our partners.
We request that the Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security provide Congress with the following information:
From the Department of Defense:
1. Confirmation that the Office of the Special Coordinator for Afghanistan will maintain the established process that allows U.S. service members and Department of Defense civilians to request resettlement for their Afghan family members to the United States.
From the Department of State:
2. Confirmation of the continuing operation of the Special Immigrant Visa program, including Chief of Mission processing and visa processing for SIV applicants and SIV derivative family members.
3. Policy guidance regarding the continuation of reception and placement services for Afghans who arrived in the United States before January 20, or who will arrive, under the SIV program or U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
4. Policy guidance enabling the continuation of travel and transport to the United States for Afghan evacuees approved as refugees under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program or with an Afghan SIV.
5. Policy guidance enabling the resumption of basic humanitarian services for Afghan evacuees located at U.S. platforms overseas.
6. Policy guidance to ensure that any medical or security clearances for Afghan SIV and refugee applicants that expire during the suspension are promptly renewed and do not delay resettlement.
7. Policy guidance re-opening a private sponsorship pathway for veterans and others to sponsor the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
From the Department of Homeland Security:
8. Policy guidance regarding the status of Afghan parolees in relation to the Administration’s suspension of parole programs and DHS “phase out” guidance, including for those who entered the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, and committing to process Afghan parole applications that have already been submitted.
9. Extension and re-designation of Temporary Protected Status for Afghans in the United States beyond the current expiration date of May 20, 2025.
10. Policy guidance regarding the processing status of follow-to-join petitions for qualifying derivative family members of Afghan refugees, asylees, and SIVs.
We made promises to our Afghan partners, and when the United States makes a promise – a covenant – we must keep it. Thank you for your prompt attention to these requests.
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