WHA Letter to Congressional Leadership Urging the Passage of the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Amendment

Dear Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries,

We write to urge you to include the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025. This measure is critical to standardizing additional vetting in the pathway to legal permanent status for eligible Afghans who were relocated to the United States due to the U.S. military withdrawal.

The October 2024 arrest of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, someone the U.S. Department of Justice has charged with conspiring with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), underscores the urgency of this legislation. Tawhedi was admitted to the United States on temporary humanitarian parole status without a specified avenue for additional vetting aligned with the rigorous standards that the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Amendment would implement. This legislation’s 13-step national security and background checks would require interagency reviews, spanning the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense, as well as mandatory in-person interviews.

As veterans organizations serving veterans across the country, including those of the Global War on Terrorism, we know firsthand the moral and national security imperative of keeping our promises to the Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. mission and were admitted to the United States under emergency circumstances. By requiring applicants to undergo a rigorous, gold-standard vetting process, and placing those who pass and are eligible on a pathway to legal permanent status, passing the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Amendment would help alleviate any remaining security concerns about the Afghan humanitarian parole recipients in the United States. Without this legislation, we leave these Afghans in a state of legal limbo and without a comprehensive remedy for vetting concerns.

That is why the undersigned national veterans organizations urge Congress to pass the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Amendment in the NDAA or any appropriate end-of-year package.