Policy
The record, and the road ahead.
AfghanEvac turns operational reality into specific, winnable policy fixes. Here is how we do that, what we have already won, and what has to happen now.
Last updated July 30, 2026
How we work
Inform. Analyze. Demand accountability.
AfghanEvac is not a lobbying shop. We provide concrete information, testimony, analysis, and data, and we demand accountability where there is none. We do that through bill analysis, advocacy documents, storytelling, organizing, and support for legislation that keeps America's promise to our wartime allies.
On this one issue, keeping that promise, the work has been ever-changing. It falls into two eras, and this page is organized around them.
The Record
When the executive branch was a partner, our recommendations became policy. This is the accounting of what we called for and what got done.
See the record →The Agenda
With issuance at zero and the leverage moved to Congress and to state and local government, we inform, analyze, and demand. This is what has to happen now.
See the agenda →Era One · The Record · 2021 to 2025
What we called for, and what got done
When the executive branch was a partner, AfghanEvac's recommendations became policy. The wins below are grouped by what they achieved. Each one is tagged with the part of government that delivered it and the date.
Built the mechanisms to bring people to safety
- ✓Established CARE as a permanent State Department office, later written into lawState / Congress · 2022, codified Dec 2024
- ✓Opened third-country processing platforms in Qatar, Albania, and GermanyState · 2022-2023
- ✓Opened DoD installations overseas as temporary processing sitesDoD
- ✓Built an end-to-end, risk-based, multi-year plan, which became Enduring WelcomeNSC
- ✓Directed additional processing sites and set a 5,000-per-month throughput targetNSC
- ✓Approved use of Afghan carriers for relocation flightsState · 2022
- ✓Scaled up pre-travel processing, with education and integration at the platformsState
Opened and unblocked the legal pathways
- ✓Secured 12,000 additional SIV numbers, the largest single increase in the program's historyCongress · Mar 2024
- ✓Streamlined the SIV application by removing the redundant I-360 stepState / DHS · Jul 2022
- ✓Stood up a re-parole program for Afghans whose parole was expiringDHS · May 2023
- ✓Established TRIG exemptions so otherwise-eligible Afghans were not barredDHS · Jun 2022
- ✓Eliminated immigration form and processing fees for Afghan alliesDHS · Nov 2021
- ✓Began USRAP P1/P2 refugee processing for at-risk AfghansState / NSC · Aug 2021
- ✓Introduced adjustment-of-status legislation, the Afghan Adjustment ActCongress · Aug 2022
Reunited families and supported people
- ✓Built a family reunification mechanism for families split during the evacuation (DS-4317)State · Jan 2023
- ✓Built a public website and force-wide policy for servicemember family reunificationDoD
- ✓Issued General Licenses so humanitarian organizations could operate without sanctions violationsTreasury · Sep-Dec 2021
- ✓Funded locally administered mental health access for AfghansHHS · 2022-2023
- ✓Funded locally administered legal services for AfghansHHS · 2022-2023
Made the government more transparent and accountable
- ✓Named a Special Assistant to the President with tasking authority for relocation (Curtis Ried)White House
- ✓Nominated and confirmed an Ambassador to QatarWhite House · Aug 2022
- ✓Ordered an audit of interagency communications and aligned messaging for transparencyNSC / State
- ✓Made the SIV Chief of Mission approval process more transparentState
- ✓Released a relocation process map and pre-relocation information for travelersState · 2024
Sourced from the AfghanEvac 2021-2025 Impact Report and The Unfinished Mission, with the government-action side verified against State Department, USCIS, Treasury, HHS, Congressional, and court records. Full account in The Ledger.
Era Two · The Agenda · 2025 to now
Where the work is now
The executive branch that acted is gone. Since January 2025 refugee admissions have been suspended, relocation flights have stopped, CARE is being dismantled, and as of January 1, 2026, visa issuance to Afghan-passport holders has fallen to zero. The leverage has moved to Congress and to state and local government, and so have we.
What has been rolled back or made harder
Since January 2025, this administration has undone many of the mechanisms above and stacked on new barriers. Where we have a full explainer, it is linked.
- ×Suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, halting Afghan refugee arrivals Jan 2025
- ×Paused relocation flights and began dismantling CARE and the Enduring Welcome enterprise Read the explainer →
- ×Cut visa issuance to Afghan-passport holders to zero through the travel proclamation Jan 1, 2026 Read the explainer →
- ×Rescinded the Chamorro Memo, stripping prosecutorial-discretion protections Read the explainer →
- ×Moved to end protections and allow removals to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
- ×Changed the protections refugees receive on arrival Read the explainer →
- ×Proposed rules restricting work authorization for asylum seekers Read the explainer →
- ×Imposed new asylum fees Read the explainer →
- ×Narrowed immigration appeals through Board of Immigration Appeals rule changes Read the explainer →
- ×Set the SIV program on a wind-down path Read the explainer →
- ×Proposed FY2027 budget cuts to the programs Afghan allies rely on Read the explainer →
What needs to happen right now
The full agenda
- Restore the SIV exemption to Proclamation 10998 and resume issuing visas to Afghan-passport holders
- Issue the 5,970 authorized SIV numbers that remain
- Authorize roughly 50,000 additional principal-applicant numbers, or remove the cap
- Restore CARE and the Enduring Welcome enterprise, including relocation flights and third-country processing
- Reopen the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to Afghans, including P1 and P2 referrals
- Expedite family reunification and end the multi-year separations
- Reopen and extend Chief of Mission eligibility for those shut out by the December 2025 deadline
- Comply fully with the court's orders rather than litigating against wartime allies
- Protect Afghans already here: pass the Afghanistan TPS Act, and get USCIS to adjudicate the benefits they have already filed for
- Amend H.R. 9773 to include a wartime ally carve-out, or strip its parole and asylum titles
- Build and pass a durable, conflict-agnostic wartime allies program
The full case for each ask is laid out in The Unfinished Mission.
Legislation & analysis
We read the bills, and we show what they do
Legislation is the only fix that lasts. A proclamation can be reversed overnight; a law gives Afghan allies stability and a clear picture of what is possible for them long term. So we analyze the bills that affect Afghans, break down their real-world impact, and support the ones that keep the promise.
Take action now
Live campaigns you can act on today
When we have a live campaign, you can act on it right here. Individuals can send a note, organizations can sign on, and everyone can weigh in on the rules that affect Afghan allies. More will appear here as they open.
The Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026 (H.R. 9899)
Temporary Protected Status for the vetted Afghan allies already living in the United States. Bipartisan, introduced July 23, 2026.
The asylum interview rule
A new DHS rule sends affirmative asylum seekers to immigration court without an interview. The public comment period is open now.
Our bill analysis
Provision by provision, in plain language, we show what a bill actually does for Afghan allies: what helps, what falls short, and what is missing.
H.R. 9773, the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act
A rewrite of the 2023 border bill that would permanently narrow asylum and humanitarian parole. It contains no Afghanistan carve-out. As written, it would end the parole authority that brought Afghan allies to safety, eliminate re-parole for Afghans already here, and bar asylum for people whose only path out of Afghanistan ran through a third country, including the routes the U.S. government itself flew.
Where AfghanEvac stands. We oppose H.R. 9773 as written, and we are asking Congress to add a wartime ally carve-out.
FY2027 NDAA, Afghan provisions
A side-by-side analysis of the Senate and House versions of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, including Camp As Sayliyah non-refoulement protection, records preservation, and the Afghanistan War Commission.
Legislation we support
We take positions on the bills that would keep America's promise. Our top priorities are the Enduring Welcome Act and the bipartisan Afghanistan TPS Act.
The Enduring Welcome Act
Creates a permanent office within the State Department to coordinate Afghan relocation, fix family reunification, and report regularly to Congress, while maintaining rigorous vetting.
Its core provision, codifying the CARE office, passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee with bipartisan support in September 2025 and was written into the FY2026 NDAA, before Republican leadership stripped it out at the last minute, days before that bill became law.
The Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026
Designates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status through July 1, 2029, restoring deportation protection and work authorization for the vetted Afghan allies already living here. It directs DHS to adjudicate applications within 90 days, grants consent for emergency travel abroad, and waives filing fees. TPS is a bridge, not a path to citizenship, for people who are already here, already vetted, and already working in American communities.
Endorsed by AfghanEvac, No One Left Behind, Global Refuge, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Refugees International.
Afghan Adjustment Act
Reintroduced but stalled. The Adjustment Act would have given Afghans who arrived on parole a path to permanent residence. In today's policy environment it no longer meets the moment. The urgent legislative need is statutory protection for people already here and restored pathways for those still abroad.
Advocacy documents
Open letters and sign-on advocacy
Public letters are one of our accountability tools, distinct from legislation. They put a coalition on record at key moments and press decision-makers to act. From 2021 to today, most recent first.
To Cabinet Secretaries on the Afghanistan Policy Review
A second letter to Secretaries Rubio, Hegseth, and Mullin and Director Edlow, pressing the administration to restart processing.
Read the documentRegarding Camp As Sayliyah
An open letter on the safety and resettlement of the Afghans held at Camp As Sayliyah.
Read the documentAdministration Transition Letter
A nonpartisan letter to the incoming administration, urging continued protection for Afghan allies.
Read the documentTo the Government of Pakistan
Urging a humanitarian approach to Afghans awaiting their path to safety. Over 400 signers.
Read the documentTo State and Local Leaders
Calling on communities to stand with Afghans through resolutions, outreach, and civic recognition.
Read the documentTo the Biden Administration
Urging the nation's leadership to honor the promise and ensure safe relocation and resettlement. Over 1,300 signers.
Read the documentThe primary sources
The documents, court filings, and government reports behind this page live on The Ledger, AfghanEvac's public record, including Protection Promised, the Practitioner's Companion, and the live litigation tracker.
Turn the record into the next win
The agenda above moves when constituents ask for it. Take action, find your representatives, and push.
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