FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 17, 2022
Washington, DC
Contact: (202) 527-9704, media@projectanar.org
Congress Failed to Include the Afghan Adjustment Act in December Omnibus, but Advocates Continue to Push for Floor Amendment
Project ANAR (Afghan Network for Advocacy and Resources), in response to the Afghan Adjustment Act not being attached to the December 2022 Omnibus Spending Bill, releases the following statement:
The Afghan Adjustment Act would follow the historical precedent of offering protection to communities following U.S. wartime evacuations. It would allow adjudicators to focus their resources on Afghans urgently seeking refuge, expand protections, and enact an oversight mechanism. Congress can still do right by Afghans and the diverse coalition of bipartisan Senators, Representatives, veterans, diplomats, businesses, editorial boards across the political spectrum, and faith groups who support them, by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act as a floor amendment to the omnibus.
Laila Ayub, Project ANAR Co-Founder and Immigration Attorney, said the following:
“It is shameful if a small group of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim Senators and staffers have been enough of an obstacle to prevent the Afghan Adjustment Act’s inclusion in the December omnibus. We stand firm in the belief that we can hold true to our values while advocating for our community. Perceptions of Afghans, Muslims, and immigrants as a threat to public safety are the reason for the barriers Afghans face, the reason pathways are so limited for Afghans, and the reason that an Afghan Adjustment Act is needed in the first place. They are rooted in racism, not reality. We refuse to accept that the path forward requires us to validate the values of those who reject our humanity. The failure of Senator Grassley and others to deliver this needed measure for Afghans shows that they do not even value the voices of veterans and their own constituents.
We urge our community not to panic. Everyone pushing for this bill has been busy filling gaps left by the government’s inaction for the last two years. We have been gearing up to meet the needs of newly arrived Afghans to obtain permanent status and family reunification. We hold out hope that Congress will do the right thing and offer a pathway for Afghans. We urge Senator Schumer to support the Afghan Adjustment Act as a floor amendment to the December Omnibus.”
#####
Project ANAR is an Afghan community immigration justice organization formed and led by Afghan American women, in partnership with other immigration lawyers, that focuses on legal services, community education, and advocacy and engagement. Project ANAR’s objectives include obtaining permanent status for Afghans in the U.S., advocating for the expansion of pathways for those seeking refuge, and seeking an end to the systems that displace our community. Project ANAR works primarily in the Bay Area, CA and in the DMV region, but also engages in national level advocacy and legal services coalition work. It is fiscally sponsored by Pangea Legal Services, a 501(c)3 based in San Francisco, CA.