Continue to Support Afghan Neighbors
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Continue to Support Afghan Neighbors

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Working to protect Our Afghan Neighbors

URGENT! Show Your Support for the Afghan Adjustment Act

Contact your congressperson today to help our new Afghan neighbors secure a pathway to permanent residency.

The evacuation was just the beginning. We must continue to advocate for our Afghan neighbors in the U.S. and abroad. 

 For two decades, the U.S. Government worked with hundreds of thousands of Afghan allies to serve the U.S. mission as interpreters, translators, cultural advisors, drivers, NGO employees, human rights activists, and more. Because of their service to the U.S. mission, our allies and their families soon became the targets of anti-American violence.

In early 2021, before Afghanistan was making headlines, LIRS began pressing the White House to act to protect and evacuate our allies. We joined veterans’ groups, human rights organizations, and resettlement agencies to form the Evacuate our Allies coalition, and together, we advocated not only for the continued and urgent evacuation of in-country Afghans at-risk, but also the safety and rights of those who we have already welcomed to the United States.

Through Operation Allies Refuge, the U.S. evacuated more than 76,000 of our Afghan allies—but tens of thousands remain in harm’s way. Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, attacks against Afghan nationals who remain in-country and aided the U.S. mission have not ended. 

We must continue to protect and advocate for those at risk, including translators, human rights activists, journalists, LGBTQIA+ people, and religious and minority groups. Additionally, thousands of female judges, journalists, and activists have seen see their freedoms stripped away. LIRS and its partners remain steadfast in ensuring pathways of protection and a robust humanitarian response for the Afghan people who have been left behind.

LIRS has been at the forefront of advocacy for our Afghan neighbors since the beginning, and we are not stopping now. We stand ready to support and empower recently arrived Afghans  in the United States and to continue advocating for those left behind. We will continue our work to ensure their successful integration into our communities and will continue to advocate for the Afghan Adjustment Act, which offers a permanent status and sense of security to Afghans brought to the U.S. through the August 2021 evacuation.

Our Advocacy For Afghan Allies

April 14, 2021

Withdrawal Announcement

President Biden announces withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021

May 12, 2021

LIRS Response

LIRS submits recommendations to provide humanitarian protection for certain Afghans to Biden administration

May 21, 2021

Action Alert
LIRS launches our Protect Afghan Allies Action Alert, resulting in over 21,000 messages in support of Afghan allies sent to the White House.

June 4, 2021

NGO Letter

LIRS delivers letter signed by 70 non-governmental organizations to administration, urging evacuation

June 8, 2021

Call to Care: More than Allies

LIRS hosts webinar: Call to Care: More than Allies.

June 24, 2021

Relocation Announcement

President Biden announces relocation of allies.

July 1, 2021

Save Our Afghan Allies Rally

LIRS hosts the Save Our Afghan Allies rally with our coalition partners in Washington, D.C.

July 8, 2021

Presidential Remarks

President Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan winddown.

July 8, 2021

RCUSA Letter to Administration

Refugee Council USA submits recommendations to administration. 

July 14, 2021

Operation Allies Refuge

Reports indicate White House launch of Operation Allies Refuge. 

July 30, 2021

Afghans Arrive in US

The first of our Afghan allies arrive at Ft. Lee in Virginia; Congress passes emergency funding bill that includes money for and changes to the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program

August 15, 2021

Fall of Kabul

Kabul falls to the Taliban; U.S. embassy in Kabul closes; evacuation effort broadens. 

August 30, 2021

Final Evacuation Flights

The last Operation Allies Refuge evacuation flights and the U.S. military depart; the operation brings 120,000+ to safety.

September 30, 2021

Passage of Protective Provision

Congress passes Merkley provision to help ease the transition to the U.S. for recently evacuated Afghan refugees. 

October 28,2021

Letter to National Security Advisor

LIRS joins with 100+ organizations in sending a letter to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urging the administration to support further evacuation and humanitarian protections for Afghans in-country.

February 15, 2022

Letter to DHS and USCIS

LIRS and Human Rights First lead and deliver a letter signed by 200 organizations requesting creation of the Afghan Parole Program, a designated parole program for at-risk Afghans.

March 1, 2022

Faith-based letter to Congress

LIRS co-led a letter to Congress calling for and Afghan Adjustment Act. The letter was signed by more than 250 faith leaders and 100 faith-based organizations. 

April 20, 2022

Release of Evacuate Our Allies Report

Marking the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s announcement of full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition releases a recommendations report to the White House and Operation Allies Welcome, the federal government’s Unified Coordination Group.

June 3, 2022

Letter to Secretary Mayorkas and USCIS Director Jaddou

LIRS led and was joined by over 115 organizations in calling on the Biden administration to reinstate vital legal services for Afghans who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas at Operation Allies Welcome’s National Conference Center. Read the letter.

July 25, 2022

Vital Legal Services Reinstated

Operation Allies Welcome and USCIS favorably responded to request to reinstate vital legal services for Afghans who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas at Operation Allies Welcome’s National Conference Center. Read the official response. The first legal clinic was held July 24, 2022. 

August 10, 2022

Press Conference for the Afghan Adjustment Act

LIRS co-led a press conference with veteran and Afghan members of the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition, urging Congress to pass the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, which had been introduced in the House and Senate the day before. Learn more about the bill here.

August 27, 2022

Last Legal Services Clinic Held

Pro bono attorneys, in partnership with Operation Allies Welcome, held the last of four legal services clinics at the National Conference Center for newly arrived Afghans in the end phase of their SIV process. As an outcome of those clinics, 130 Adjustment of Status Applications for Afghan SIVs were prepared and as a result of our advocacy, 177 total applications were accepted by USCIS for processing.

September 6-8, 2022

Co-Host Evacuate Our Allies Advocacy Days

Following the bipartisan introduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act, LIRS co-hosted Advocacy Days urging Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. During our September fly-in, nearly 500 participants joined us for 80 House and Senate meetings focused on the passage of this critical legislation.

May 4, 2023

LIRS, AAF, and USCRI Call for Re-Designation of TPS

LIRS and over a hundred other EOA coalition members call for immediate re-designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan.

June 1, 2023

DHS Responds to Immediate TPS Redesignation Request for Afghanistan

Ur Jaddou, the Director of USCIS, responds on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security, to EOA coalition members on the status of redesignating TPS for Afghanistan.

July 14, 2023

Afghan Adjustment Act Reintroduced

The Afghan Adjustment Act is reintroduced as a standalone bill in the House and Senate.

LIRS's Save Our Afghan Allies Rally

On July 1, 2021, LIRS and our coalition partners IRAP, Human Rights First – Veterans for American Ideals, Association of Wartime Allies, and With Honor Action hosted a rally outside of the White House calling for immediate evacuation. Watch highlights below, as well as an important message from Veteran and activist Matt Zeller. 

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