Expand visa program for Afghan helpers
During our ongoing war in Afghanistan, the members of our armed forces and diplomats relied upon, and continue to rely upon, the valiant service of local interpreters and aides without whom lasting success would be impossible. The military even coined a phrase for the close relationship with our Afghan allies, “shona ba shona,” which is Dari for “shoulder to shoulder.” We trained, lived and fought shoulder to shoulder with our Afghan allies, none more so than our interpreters.
Since 2009, Congress has promised Special Immigrant Visas to certain Afghans who worked for U.S. or coalition forces. The program has enjoyed robust, bipartisan support and has been renewed and reauthorized several times. Applicants undergo an application, interview and vetting process; they must obtain recommendations from the units with whom they served; and they must show an ongoing risk of retaliation for having worked for the United States or coalition forces. This program is unrelated to President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders on immigration and refugees.
As of March 9, however, the Unites States Embassy in Kabul announced that no further interviews for resettlement to the United States will be conducted under this program due to a lack of visas. Though Congress reauthorized the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program through 2020, it failed to allocate enough visas despite an obvious need for them. Last year, Congress authorized 1,500 visas, but there are more than 10,000 Afghans applying for visas under this program. Congress should act quickly to ensure that there are visas available for qualified applicants who were promised visas under this program. As U.S. citizens, we should all support this legislation.
We, the authors, are military veterans who currently represent pro bono a former Afghan interpreter and his family in their visa applications. Our client’s story is not unlike that of other applicants seeking the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa. He worked as an interpreter for more than 10 years. Every unit he worked with thanked him for his service and recommended him for the Special Immigrant Visa program. Following his meritorious service, he received death threats for the work he performed for the United States military and was forced to leave his home village to protect himself, his wife and his two young children. Our client submitted his visa application in mid-2016 and has been waiting months for a scheduled interview date. Because there are no more interviews being scheduled due to the lack of visas, he and his family are in limbo facing an uncertain future as to when and if they will receive an interview date and visas.
Like our client, the people affected by the lack of visas are people who risked their lives to serve with us and our fellow service members. When we were shot at, they were shot at. When we were bombed, they were bombed. But when we came home, they stayed, and their lives are still at risk because of their service to the United States.
We as a country are now failing in our promise to safeguard our allies. To protect those at risk because of their service to the United States, Congress should immediately enact the legislation proposed in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on March 15 to authorize 2,500 additional visas under the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program (referred to in the Senate as the “Keeping Our Promise to Our Afghan Allies Act”). Despite bipartisan support by many senators and U.S. representatives, opposition is expected from key members of the House. But several Texans also hold key positions and could help fast-track this legislation. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas sits on the same committee. Houston’s own Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, a Democrat, meanwhile, sits on the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration along with Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, and four other Texans, including Houston’s Rep. Ted Poe, sit on the Judiciary Committee itself. We therefore call upon Texas’ congressional delegation to actively support these bills.
Without this legislation, applicants will continue to wait in danger for their visa applications to be processed.
Our Afghan interpreters stood shoulder to shoulder with us during difficult times, and we now are proud to stand with them in pressing Congress to immediately authorize more Special Immigrant Visas.