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USCCB Urges Congress to Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholics to contact their Members of Congress to pass the reintroduced and bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act (S. 2327/H.R. 4627).
Two years ago, the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan and tens of thousands of Afghan nationals temporarily resettled in communities across the United States. These Afghan nationals—many of whom served alongside U.S. servicemembers—are still in need of a legal pathway to real and lasting safety here in the U.S.
Most Afghans arrived with humanitarian parole, which only allows someone to remain in the United States temporarily. Currently, the only pathway available to most of those relocated to the U.S. is asylum. Asylum is a complex and paperwork-intensive process with years-long processing backlogs. To make a successful asylum claim, Afghans will be asked to provide proof of their likely persecution if returned to Afghanistan. Documents that demonstrate likely persecution are the same ones that Afghans were advised to destroy to escape or elude the Taliban.
The bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act allows recently resettled Afghans to apply to become lawful permanent residents, the same status they would have received had they been admitted through asylum.
Resettlement agencies, including the USCCB, together with its Catholic Charities partners and other community-based organizations, have been hard at work during the past two years helping Afghans settle into their new homes. The Afghan Adjustment Act would benefit not only Afghans, but also lighten the workload of these organizations and federal agencies.
As Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, wrote in a recent letter to Congress, the Afghan Adjustment Act's "passage is a moral imperative for a country such as ours that embraces both freedom and the rule of law." Additionally, Bishop Seitz's letter notes the current situation "is untenable--for the families themselves, their employers, federal agencies, and the communities they now call home."
For more information about our new Afghan neighbors and the need for passing the Afghan Adjustment Act, view the backgrounder.
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