Retired military officials and officers, major veterans groups, and affected individuals have been relentlessly pushing for lawmakers to pass legalization for Afghan evacuees through the must-pass funding bill. But CNN’s Jake Tapper reported Monday night that a source said the effort to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act through the omnibus bill isn’t going to happen.
“Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, continued to oppose the act at the committee level, the source said,” CNN reported. Grassley’s opposition to the bill has long been confirmed. The bill’s reported exclusion from the omnibus package hasn’t been officially confirmed by lawmakers. But if true, it would be a moral failure and the breaking of a promise we made to our allies.
RELATED STORY: Grassley cites security concerns in opposing Afghan legalization bill, but it addresses exactly that
“Congress has missed yet another opportunity to keep our nation’s promise of protection to the allies of America’s longest war,” tweeted Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service. “Despite many legislative opportunities and 3 separate WH requests, Afghans in the US will remain subject to the anxiety of unnecessary legal limbo.”
“The glaring omission of this bill is an epic failure to seize on practical solutions that enjoy broad, bipartisan support,” she continued. Polling from this past fall found that while most Americans were unfamiliar with the Afghan Adjustment Act, nearly 60% expressed support “after reading a neutral description” of the legislation. That support jumped by double digits to 76%, when voters are informed that prominent veterans groups support the legislation.
The largest veterans organizations in recent days reissued a call for lawmakers to pass the proposal, and pressed for its inclusion in the funding bill.
“We must provide genuine and lasting protection to the Afghans who have made it safely to the United States and to those who have been left behind,” American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Student Veterans of America, and With Honor Action told lawmakers. “The longer we go without meeting this promise, the more our moral injuries fester.”
Following the report that Grassley has continued to block the bill despite his past protests that the president wasn’t doing enough to aid our allies, advocates urged an amendment that would force an up or down vote on inserting the bill into the package. That would then put everyone on the record as well when it comes to standing by our allies and their families, who risked so much in aiding our military.
“We urge Senate members to attach the bill as a floor amendment and send an unmistakable message that the U.S. honors its word,” O’Mara Vignarajah said.
“As former military officials stressed this week, potential allies will remember how we treated those who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan,” she continued. “Lawmakers must heed the call of countless veterans, faith leaders, refugee advocates, and ordinary Americans across the county—and across the political spectrum—who support this vital legislation. Anything less would be an appalling abdication of our moral responsibility to those who risked life and limb to protect us.”
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Advocates said that while the omnibus does increase by several thousand the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghan nationals, “it is deeply disappointing that Congress yet again failed to provide a pathway to permanent status for Afghans who were evacuated to the United States,” International Refugees Assistance Project said in a statement received by Daily Kos. “The Afghan Adjustment Act has overwhelming bipartisan support from both chambers, as well as from veterans, faith groups, and communities across the country.
“Passing the AAA and continuing to support the SIV program are both vital to fulfilling the promise the U.S. government made to Afghans targeted by the Taliban, especially those who risked their lives to support the U.S. mission,” the statement continued. “Congress must prioritize passing the AAA as soon as possible, and we urge Majority Leader Schumer to bring the bill to the floor as an amendment.”
It’s a message certain lawmakers need to hear more than others. “Chuck Grassley is almost always the answer when the question is ‘Who killed this sensible bipartisan immigration proposal?’” tweeted immigration attorney Greg Siskind.
Grassley has claimed supposed security concerns in his opposition to the bill. But as noted here at Daily Kos this week, an in an opinion piece at the Des Moines Register last month, “the Afghan Adjustment Act requires an extra layer of vetting as a prerequisite for legal status. These parolees already have cleared one round of careful vetting and are living in the United States. For ensuring further vetting, the Afghan Adjustment Act is the solution, not the problem.”
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