National Security Leaders Send Letter Urging Congressional Leaders to Pass the Newly Reintroduced Afghan Adjustment Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Anna Nix Kumar  
akumar@monumentadvocacy.com

WASHINGTON – Council on National Security and Immigration (CNSI) leaders have sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to work together to pass the newly reintroduced Afghan Adjustment Act swiftly.

The letter comes just as the bill was not included in the version of the National Defense Authorization Act the Senate passed last night.

Excerpts from the letter below:

“Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, the United States facilitated the evacuation of approximately 80,000 at-risk Afghans. All evacuees faced an uncertain and dangerous future under Taliban rule, and many were in imminent danger owing to their direct connection to U.S. military and diplomatic efforts over the past twenty years.”

“The rationale for the Afghan Adjustment Act is clear. First, it follows through on our nation’s commitment to its wartime allies by providing at-risk Afghans and their families — including many who supported the U.S. military and America’s diplomatic efforts for the past twenty years — a path to permanent status in the United States. Second, it sends a clear message to current and future allies — those who are necessary for U.S. servicemembers and diplomats to perform their missions in pursuit of national security — that the United States is a reliable and trusted partner that stands by the democratic ideals it professes.”

“The bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), addresses outstanding security and vetting concerns while providing a path for qualified and appropriately screened Afghans to pursue permanent status in the United States.”

Click here for the full letter.

Signatories of the letter include: Barbara Comstock, Former Member of U.S. Congress; Dan Brown, Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Dave West, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Doug Baker, Former White House Homeland Security Council; Elaine Dezenski, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; France Hoang, Former White House Assistant General Counsel; Gary Shiffman, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Navy; Gus Coldebella, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Hans Miller, Former U.S. Transportation Security Administration; Jim Williams, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Joe Whitley, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; John Mitnick, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Julie Myers Wood, Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Lynden Melmed, Former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Marc Frey, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Margaret Stock, U.S. Army Retired; Michael Neifach, Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Michael Petrucelli, Former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Ozzie Nelson, Former National Security Council and U.S. Navy; Parney Albright, Former Department of Homeland Security; Patrick Shen, Former U.S. Department of Justice and Senator Cornyn; Paul Rosenzweig, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Robert Mocny, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Ross Ashley, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Guard; Scott Boylan, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Stewart Verdery, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security

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