US lawmakers introduce Bill to allow Afghan evacuees to apply for permanent legal status

Nearly a year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, US lawmakers on Tuesday, August 9, introduced a Bill that would pave the way for citizenship to those evacuated from the war-torn nation. If the Afghan Adjustment Act gets approval by both chambers, it could end the uncertainty for Afghan evacuees, The Hill reported. The Bill allows people who arrived in the US during the evacuation or in the year since the takeover to apply for becoming legal permanent residents after one or two years of residing in the country. 

As per the news report, more than 70,000 Afghans were brought to the US before the troops withdrawal at the end of August in 2021. US Senators Amy Klobuchar, Lindsey Graham, Chris Coons, Roy Blunt, Richard Blumenthal, and Lisa Murkowski have introduced the Afghan Adjustment Act allowing Afghans with temporary status to apply for permanent legal status. Senator Amy Klobuchar in the news release called providing the opportunity to Afghan allies to apply for permanent legal status the "right and necessary thing to do." Klobuchar stressed that the bipartisan legislation will help Afghan evacuees with legal certainty as they start their lives in the US. The legislation has been modelled after other bills that have been passed by Congress in the wake of other humanitarian crises, including the Vietnam war.

"Giving our Afghan allies a chance to apply for permanent legal status is the right and necessary thing to do," said Senator Amy Klobuchar said in the news release.

"This bipartisan legislation will help provide these newly arrived Afghans who have sacrificed so much for our country with the legal certainty they deserve as they begin their lives in the US. It’s important to do what we can to help our Afghan friends find stability, opportunity, and community in their new home."

The Afghan Adjustment Act would expand the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program and include military units of the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, the Afghan Air Force, and the Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan. Furthermore, a task force will be established to implement a plan for supporting Afghans outside the US who are eligible for the SIV status and requires State Department to give response to congressional inquiries about SIV applications. The task force will be led by the US Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the director of national intelligence and the FBI, as per The Hill report. Richard Blumenthal in the news release underscored that the Afghan Adjustment Act is "critical" for thousands of US-affiliated and at-risk Afghans. 

“This measure will provide safe haven for Afghans fleeing Taliban persecution. Our bipartisan bill fulfills a moral obligation to the men and women who sacrificed in support of the U.S. mission helping American troops and diplomats," Richard Blumenthal said in the news release. 

Image: AP