FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 30, 2022

L.A. County Endorses Afghan Adjustment Act, Urges Congressional Approval

Bipartisan Bill Would Provide Afghan Allies Path to U.S. Citizenship

Washington DC – Today Los Angeles County officially endorsed the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act. The bill, introduced in Congress on August 8, will enable newly arrived Afghans to go through the immigration process, undergo a robust vetting with all necessary security reviews, and have a path forward to lawful permanent residency here in the United States. 

“I thank #AfghanEvac for working with my office on today’s motion,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “It is our duty to provide relief to Afghan nationals and their families who supported our country’s mission in Afghanistan. To that end, I urge Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act which will ensure that tens of thousands of Afghans have a lawful immigration pathway when their humanitarian parole expires.”

The County Board of Supervisors approved the action 5-0, and will now send a letter signed by the five supervisors to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging Congress to take up and pass the Afghan Adjustment Act.

“It’s huge that the most populous county in the U.S. is officially backing the Afghan Adjustment Act. Americans are speaking out, and we hope Congress is listening,” said Shawn VanDiver, Navy veteran and founder of #AfghanEvac. “Our Afghan allies are already here, and now the question is whether or not we recognize what they did for our country by passing this bill so they can live the American dream. I know many Afghans who have come to Los Angeles since the fall of Kabul a year ago, and this vote is telling them that they matter.” 

In an open letter sent to government leaders last week, #AfghanEvac asked elected officials around the nation to take three simple actions to make sure Americans do not forget the sacrifices made in Afghanistan, and to help Afghans allies displaced by the regime change who are still looking for a permanent home. One of those actions is passing a resolution calling on Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. 

“Los Angeles County has historically been a steadfast leader in ensuring immigrant communities, including Afghans, feel safe and welcomed,” said Arash Azizzada, co-director of Afghans For A Better Tomorrow and member of the #AfghanEvac coalition. “Today’s endorsement continues that welcoming message and sends a clear signal to Washington D.C.: let’s give our new Afghan neighbors a permanent home in this country by offering them permanent protections through the passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act.” 

Local and state leaders can get involved at afghanevac.org/policy and afghanevac.org/state-and-local-signup.

The Afghan Adjustment Act, known in the House as H.R. 8685 and in the Senate as S. 4787, would mirror efforts made by the U.S. government for Vietnamese and South Asian refugees following the fall of Saigon. 

As a result of the U.S.’s hurried evacuation from Afghanistan, the vast majority of Afghan evacuees were admitted to the country on a temporary basis under “humanitarian parole,” which does not confer a direct pathway to lawful permanent residence.

 In order to provide such a pathway, as the U.S. has previously done for every generation of modern wartime evacuees, the Afghan Adjustment Act would allow eligible Afghan evacuees to apply for lawful permanent residence in the U.S. after one or two years of physical presence in the country.

 The more than 200 organizations that make up the non-partisan #AfghanEvac coalition work hand-in-hand with government entities and advocate for ways to provide new Afghan community members with the stability they need to resettle and thrive in their new lives here. 

For twenty years, Afghan allies worked and fought side-by-side with U.S. and allied forces through the longest war in American history. The #AfghanEvac coalition is committed to ensuring that their service, partnership, and commitment to American ideals is honored. 

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