{"id":30307,"date":"2022-12-06T21:49:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T21:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/12\/06\/veterans-urge-congress-to-pass-the-afghan-adjustment-act\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:31:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:31:47","slug":"veterans-urge-congress-to-pass-the-afghan-adjustment-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2022\/12\/06\/veterans-urge-congress-to-pass-the-afghan-adjustment-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans urge Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This holiday season, more than 70,000 Afghans in the United States, many of whom American service members rescued last year, are living in limbo, with no guarantee they will be allowed to stay in the U.S. beyond next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of these Afghans fought alongside American troops in our longest war. U.S. service members helped them and their families flee a collapsing Afghanistan<\/a> because their service to the U.S. put them in mortal peril. Those veterans and their Afghan counterparts now sit anxiously<\/a>, waiting to see if Congress will keep honoring America\u2019s promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bipartisan Congressional coalition has put forward a solution: the Afghan Adjustment Act<\/a>, which would allow Afghans who came to the U.S. during the evacuation to be re-vetted and apply for a permanent status \u2014 something which eludes them right now. It also ensures the sustainability of Afghan resettlement, through a task force that will outlast any administration or Congress. Passing this law would immediately improve the lives of tens of thousands of our allies and friends, who have already survived so much to come this far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As this Congress comes to a close, time is running out to pass it. If a bill is not passed by the end of this year, the temporary parole that allows thousands of Afghans to stay here in the United States will quickly begin to expire, forcing Afghans to tax our already burdened asylum system without any guarantee that they can continue to live their lives here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Afghan Adjustment Act is the only way to start to heal the wounds caused by America\u2019s hasty exit from the country \u2014 wounds that run deep not only in the Afghan community, but also in the hearts of America\u2019s veterans. Last summer thousands of veterans \u2014 myself included \u2014 watched in horror<\/a> as Kabul fell and the 20 year conflict that defined our generation ended<\/a> with the abandonment of those we spent decades trying to protect. We spent weeks of sleepless nights trying to save as many allies and friends as we could<\/a> from Taliban reprisals, doing anything in our power to get them through the airport gates and onto planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\t