Blumenthal Calls for Path to Permanent Legal Status for At-Risk Afghan Allies

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) spoke on the Senate Floor about the need to provide Afghan allies with a path to permanent legal status. Many Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces fled to the U.S. to escape the brutal rule of the Taliban and now face an uncertain legal future. Blumenthal and his colleagues are calling for the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act to be included as an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act.

“I know firsthand about the translators and guards and others who served putting their lives on the line,” said Blumenthal. “And now in Connecticut, I've had the privilege of calling many of them [and their families] my friends.”  

“It is a promise. Great nations keep their promises,” Blumenthal continued. “These individuals are among our most loyal friends. The test is that they put targets on their back from the Taliban. They knew they and their families would be at risk if the Taliban ever took over. Now the Taliban has done it, and they cannot return. Nor can their families.”

The Blumenthal-sponsored Afghan Adjustment Act would allow Afghans who sought refuge in the United States to apply for permanent legal residency after undergoing additional vetting. Currently, Afghans who were admitted on temporary humanitarian status can only gain permanent legal status through the asylum system or Special Immigrant Visa process (SIV). The measure would also improve and expand the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process by broadening SIV eligibility to include groups that worked alongside American forces such as the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command and the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan.

Blumenthal thanked the veterans and organizations who have supported the measure, and even camped outside the Capitol for days to raise awareness, and called for the Senate to swiftly act to support our allies.

“We should give them permanent status, a path to permanent status in this country rather than temporary uncertain status they have right now,” Blumenthal concluded.

Video of Blumenthal’s comments can be found here. A transcript is available below. 

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal: Thanks, Mr. President. I'm honored to follow Senator Klobuchar in advocating for the Afghan Adjustment Act which we strongly hope and believe will be an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

And I just want to begin with where she finished to talk about the American troops who depended on Afghan allies who now are at-risk. I know firsthand about the translators and guards and others who served putting their lives on the line because like many of my colleagues, I visited Afghanistan. I saw them at work. And now in Connecticut, I've had the privilege of calling many of them [and their families] my friends.

I also know firsthand because my son Matthew was a Marine Corps Infantry Officer in Afghanistan, had a translator whom he succeeded in bringing back to this country, but only because he's a lawyer and knew how to navigate the intricate challenging rules that apply. It took him two years, two years to bring back the man who helped him survive his time in combat there.

Senator Klobuchar is absolutely right – it is a promise. Great nations keep their promises. These individuals are among our most loyal friends. The test is that they put targets on their back from the Taliban. They knew they and their families would be at risk if the Taliban ever took over. Now the Taliban has done it, and they cannot return. Nor can their families.

So I want to thank all of my colleagues, the bipartisan group that strongly supports this amendment, but I also particularly want to thank our veterans who literally camped out on the Swamp outside the Capitol for days, weeks, hoping at the end of the last session that we would adopt this measure.

Our veterans are standing strong behind our allies, Afghan allies whom they know their lives on the line for them, whom they know put their families at risk for them.

And I am grateful to our veterans groups, the kinds of allies we have individually and around the country who have said they are going to make it priority to make sure we treat fairly these Afghan allies. We should give them permanent status, a path to permanent status in this country rather than temporary uncertain status they have right now.

Thank you Mr. President. I yield the floor.

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