89% of Americans Support Keeping Our Pledge to Our Afghans Allies

Washington, D.C. – An astonishing 80% of Americans believe that the United States should help Afghans resettle in the U.S., according to a new poll conducted by With Honor Action and Ipsos. Further, 89% of Americans said they support keeping our pledge to Afghans who helped U.S. forces against the Taliban, with 56% of Americans “strongly” supporting. The support was bipartisan, with 87% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats agreeing.

“The results of the national poll are striking,” said Rye Barcott, CEO and Co-Founder of With Honor Action and U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “Rarely do we see such unified support across party lines.”

With Honor Action has joined with several leading Veterans organizations to encourage Congress to authorize more visa and immigration authorities for refugees from the Taliban. But legislative gridlock has stalled several initiatives aimed at keeping faith with our stranded Afghan allies.

“Americans want us to help our Afghan allies. But we remain plagued by inaction,” said Barcott. “Congress must act now to help clear the immigration backlog for highly vetted Afghan allies, many of whom fought loyally by our sides for years in America’s longest war.”

The poll was conducted the first week of October. Highlights of the survey include:

• Almost 9 in 10 Americans view Afghans who helped U.S. troops favorably (88%), and half of Americans view them “very favorably.”
• 80% of Americans agree that the U.S. should help Afghans who assisted U.S. forces in Afghanistan resettle in the United States.
• 89% of Americans say that they support keeping America’s word to Afghans who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan, with 56% of Americans “strongly” supporting it. This included 87% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats.
• 81% of Americans say “yes” when asked if the U.S. should help these Afghans escape Afghanistan and start a new life in America.
• 87% of Americans agree that the U.S. has a duty to the Afghans we promised to protect, and 84% say these Afghans can be successfully integrated into American society.
• 84% generally support the idea of allowing Afghans who helped troops during the war to resettle in the U.S. Further, 80% said we should be doing more to help these Afghans, 77% say that these folks would be welcomed if they were resettled in their community.

• 75% of Americans say “yes” to the question of whether the U.S. should grant these Afghans legal status, 61% say “yes” on granting them citizenship, and 85% agree that these Afghans and their families should go through rigorous background checks and screenings as a part of resettling.