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September 6, 2022

USCCB Urges Congress to Pass Afghan Adjustment Act
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholics to contact their Members of Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act (S. 4787/H.R. 8685).

One year ago, the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan and tens of thousands of Afghan nationals temporarily resettled in communities across the United States. These Afghan nationals—many of whom served alongside U.S. servicemembers—are now in need of a legal pathway to real and lasting safety here in the U.S.

Most Afghans arrived with humanitarian parole, which only allows someone to remain in the United States temporarily. Currently, the only pathway available to most of those relocated to the U.S. is asylum. Asylum is a complex and paperwork-intensive process with years-long processing backlogs. To make a successful asylum claim, Afghans will be asked to provide proof of their likely persecution if returned to Afghanistan. Documents that demonstrate likely persecution are the same ones that Afghans were advised to destroy to escape or elude the Taliban.

The bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act allows recently resettled Afghans to apply to become lawful permanent residents, the same status they would have received had they been admitted through asylum.

Resettlement agencies, including the USCCB, together with its Catholic Charities partners and other community-based organizations, have been hard at work during the past year helping Afghans settle into their new homes. The Afghan Adjustment Act would benefit not only Afghans, but also lighten the workload of these organizations and federal agencies.

As Bishop Mario Dorsonville, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, wrote in a recent letter to Congress, “it is both our moral duty and in our country’s best interest to provide our new Afghan neighbors with a pathway to permanent legal status.” For more information about our new Afghan neighbors and the need for passing the Afghan Adjustment Act, view the backgrounder

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Thank you for helping Afghan families find security and stability in their new country.