Please join us in calling on Members of Congress to pass an Afghan Adjustment Act. This life-changing legislation will help Afghans who were evacuated in 2021 to rebuild their lives and plan for the future across U.S. communities, providing them with a pathway to lawful permanent status and eventual citizenship.

Who are Afghan evacuees?

Two years ago, more than 78,000 Afghans were welcomed to the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome under a special process called “humanitarian parole.” This evacuation was a generational event and the largest of its kind since the Vietnam War. Humanitarian parole allowed Afghans to be admitted to the U.S. quickly and enables them to stay here for up to two years but does not guarantee a path to lawful permanent residence or eventual citizenship. Over the past two years, the state of Georgia has welcomed more than 1,700 Afghan evacuees who are working to rebuild their lives in communities across the state.

What's the situation?

Despite meeting the definition of a refugee, these Afghan evacuees find themselves under a cloud of legal uncertainty. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a process for Afghans to apply for re-parole, which would extend an Afghan’s stay for two more years, the temporary nature of parole remains.

Moreover, under humanitarian parole, the options for family reunification are extremely limited, causing separated Afghans to experience anguish and trauma as they wait to be reunited with loved ones.

These people are suffering. I cannot reiterate enough, the amount of trauma there is in the fact that they don’t have any type of permanent status at all (…) It’s not something you can build your life on and that’s what we’re asking them to do.
— Asiyah Sarwari, Staff Attorney, the IRC in Atlanta

Without adjustment legislation, the only other pathway toward lawful permanent residence for most Afghan evacuees is asylum. As of now, only a portion of Afghan humanitarian parolees have applied, and only a fraction have had their asylum application granted. The current need to apply for asylum in order to find a permanent status creates additional burdens for both Afghans, who must be able to seek, find and afford legal representation, and the asylum system, which is already facing a massive backlog of cases.

Congress can remedy this situation and provide long-term support to our new Afghan neighbors by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act reintroduced by bipartisan groups of lawmakers earlier this summer.

How can I help?

After a historic all-hands evacuation effort, the United States should guarantee Afghan humanitarian parolees not just temporary safety, but certainty: the certainty of future security, the certainty that citizenship affords families and their future generations, and the certainty that they will be able to craft their lives from all—not just some—of what the U.S. has to offer.

Join us in asking your members of Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act.

Stand with Afghan evacuees. Call your Georgia members of Congress and ask them to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act

Senator Jon Ossoff  |   202-224-3521 (DC)  |  470-786-7800 (GA)

Senator Raphael Warnock  |  202-224-3643 (DC)  |  770-694-7828 (GA)

Rep. Buddy Carter - District 1  |  202-225-5831 (DC)  |  912-352-0101 (GA)

Rep. Sanford Bishop - District 2  |  202-225-3631 (DC)  |  229-439-8067 (GA)

Rep. Drew Ferguson - District 3  |  202-225-5901 (DC)  |  770-683-2033 (GA)

Rep. Hank Johnson - District 4  |  202-225-1605 (DC)  |  770-987-2291 (GA)

Rep. Nikema Williams - District 5  |  202-225-3801 (DC)  |  404-659-0116 (GA)

Rep. Richard McCormick - District 6  |  202-225-4272 (DC)  |  770-232-3005 (GA)

Rep. Lucy McBath - District 7  |  202-225-4501 (DC)  |  470-773-6330 (GA)

Rep. Austin Scott - District 8  |  202-225-6531 (DC)  |  229-396-5175 (GA)

Rep. Andrew Clyde - District 9  |  202-225-9893 (DC)  |  470-768-6520 (GA)

Rep. Mike Collins - District 10  |  202-225-4101 (DC)  |  770-207-1776 (GA)

Rep. Barry Loudermilk - District 11  |  202-225-2931 (DC)  |  770-429-1776 (GA)

Rep. Rick W. Allen - District 12  |  202-225-2823 (DC)  |  706-228-1980 (GA)

Rep. David Scott - District 13  |  202-225-2939 (DC)  |  770-210-5073 (GA)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene - District 14  |  202-225-5211 (DC)  |  706-226-5320 (GA)

Find your Representative

 

Get involved in our advocacy efforts: contact the IRC in Atlanta’s Communications & External Relations Manager, Fiona Freeman, at Fiona.Freeman@rescue.org. 

To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Development Director, Heloise Ahoure, at Heloise.Ahoure@rescue.org or 678-636-8941.  

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