Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

Loading....

Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

After the U.S. withdrawal from over two decades of war in Afghanistan, tens of thousands of U.S.-affiliated and at-risk Afghans and their children have been welcomed into the United States.

But their immigration status via "humanitarian parole" is temporary. Without an option for permanent immigration status, our new neighbors are living with deep fear and uncertainty about what will happen when this “parole” expires.

We can change that. By passing The Afghan Adjustment Act, we can ensure that we keep our promise to the Afghan people by giving them the chance to apply to become lawful permanent residents.

The Torah demands, “You must fulfill what has crossed your lips” (Deuteronomy 23:24). The Talmud understands this phrase as including both a positive and a negative commandment — a positive commandment to carry out “what has crossed your lips” and a negative commandment “to fulfill,” i.e. not to delay. (Rosh Hashanah 6a, gloss Rashi) Right now, the U.S. is delaying. Getting this bill introduced and passed would be a critical step towards fulfilling what has crossed our lips.

Our advocacy is crucial in this moment. This action is the epitome of the Jewish imperative to welcome the stranger. Welcoming is not a single moment of generosity, but rather a continuous process of solidarity and support.

T’ruah is proud to join the Evacuate Our Allies coalition in this fight. After a harrowing and life-threatening experience saving themselves and their families from violence, Afghans deserve an opportunity to rebuild their lives in safety – without the fear and limitations of an uncertain immigration status, and without the trauma of attempting to navigate an immigration system that is not adequately prepared for their arrival.

Thank you for sending a pre-written email to your Members of Congress.

Keep me updated about T'ruah's work!

Note: The "Title" field options come from your representative's office and may not include "Rabbi," "Cantor," etc. Please add your professional title to the body copy of the letter.

Submit

Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

Note: The "Title" field options come from your representative's office and may not include "Rabbi," "Cantor," etc. Please add your professional title to the body copy of the letter.

Your Senators and Representative

Subject: Support an Afghan Adjustment Act

Message:

I am your constituent and a supporter of T’ruah, a Jewish organization committed to protecting the dignity and human rights of refugees. I’m asking for your support in passing an Afghan Adjustment Act. I urge you to provide the necessary funding for the U.S. resettlement program and for resources for local communities to welcome refugees as the FY 2022 Continuing Resolution is set to expire on December 3rd. As a supporter of the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition, I urge your office to honor our new Afghan neighbors by creating an opportunity for Afghans to apply to become lawful permanent residents. I hope that your office will: 1. Support an Afghan Adjustment Act: Congress should immediately pass legislation that would allow Afghans who are being evacuated from Afghanistan and arriving with humanitarian parole, a temporary status, to have an opportunity to apply to become lawful permanent residents - the same legal status they would have received had they been admitted as refugees. Doing so will provide a roadmap to permanent status for Afghans on humanitarian parole after one year. Afghans arriving with humanitarian parole are fleeing violence and persecution and deserve an opportunity to rebuild their lives in safety — and without the fear and limitations associated with uncertain immigration status. This is also critical because Afghans were advised to destroy documents associating them to the U.S. mission and other information that would otherwise be used to pursue an asylum claim. 2. Hold the Biden administration accountable: Congress has a role to play in ensuring the administration creates safe pathways out of Afghanistan, establishes procedures to equitably and efficiently welcome Afghans who were left behind in Afghanistan or other host countries to the United States, and expands and expedites access to life-saving refugee protections. It is equally imperative that the administration creates a categorical parole program for Afghans, waives all application fees associated with humanitarian parole applications for Afghan nationals, at the very least for individuals with U.S. ties or loved ones in the United States, and scales up processing for humanitarian parole applications. Now is the time to rebuild the U.S. resettlement program and welcome our new neighbors. My community welcomes refugees and I urge you to support robust funding for refugee protection and resettlement. Thank you,

Characters remaining:

Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

Sorry, we can't find your representatives. But, you can still help!

Support our work!

Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

Tell Congress: Keep Our Promise to our Afghan Neighbors

Sorry, we can't find your representatives. But, you can still help!

Thank You! Want to make your action go even farther?

Support our work!