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Washington, DC -- Yesterday, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY), Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and 74 other Members of the House sent a letter calling on the Administration to take a number of immediate steps to help as many of our Afghan allies as possible relocate quickly and efficiently.

The letter, addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urges the Secretaries to establish a special humanitarian parole program specifically for women leaders, activists, human rights defenders, parliamentarians, journalists, and other highly visible women currently at risk; increase processing capacity within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; appoint an interagency refugee coordinator; and work to ensure the safe exit from Afghanistan of those making use of the Priority 1 or 2 pathways to third countries, and to support them upon arrival.

“Getting U.S. citizens out of harm's way must remain our top priority, but we also cannot abandon our Afghan allies. In just the past few days, we’ve seen a glimpse of the grave danger that our Afghan partners, especially women leaders and activists, face under Taliban rule,” said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. “The Biden administration must take every action possible to expedite the relocation of at-risk Afghans -- including the establishment of a humanitarian parole program and increasing processing capacity at USCIS. I am ready to support these efforts in any way necessary.”

“It is imperative that the Administration makes use of every resource available to relocate our allies, women leaders, activists, and other highly vulnerable individuals to the United States,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng. “My staff has been working diligently at all hours to help those fleeing Afghanistan. By taking these concrete steps as laid out in my letter, we can expedite the relocation of our Afghan allies. I urge the Administration to work with Congress in this endeavor.”

“The images and news reports coming out of Afghanistan paint a haunting picture of fear and desperation,” said Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan. “Time is of the essence to help the Afghan men and women who stood beside American servicemembers, diplomats, and humanitarians as translators, cultural guides, allies, and friends over the last two decades. I urge the Administration to quickly act on our recommendations in order to ensure those most likely to be targeted for advancing women’s equality and promoting human rights are not left behind.”

The letter was signed by Representatives Ro Khanna, Donald Payne, Albio Sires, Bobby Rush, Jim Cooper, Earl Blumenauer, Peter Welch, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Adriano Espaillat, Marilyn Strickland, Ilhan Omar, Sara Jacobs, Jake Auchincloss, Brad Sherman, Zoe Lofgren, Adam Smith, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Debbie Dingell, Jerry Nadler, Sheila Jackson Lee, Jim McGovern, Chellie Pingree, Jim Costa, Seth Moulton, Steven Horsford, Scott Peters, Tom Malinowski, Suzan DelBene, Ted Lieu, Kim Schrier, Paul Tonko, Madeleine Dean, Suzanne Bonamici, Juan Vargas, Dwight Evans, Tom Suozzi, John Yarmuth, Dina Titus, Jim Himes, Michael Waltz, Anna Eshoo, Mike Quigley, Stephen Lynch, David Price, Ayanna Pressley, Ami Bera, Jared Huffman, Marc Veasey, Jahana Hayes, Hank Johnson, Elaine Luria, Val Demings, Gregory Meeks, Bill Keating, Derek Kilmer, Ritchie Torres, Carolyn Maloney, Sylvia Garcia, Joseph Morelle, Ruben Gallego, Anthony Brown, Jerry McNerney, Colin Allred, David Cicilline, Elissa Slotkin, Mary Gay Scanlon, Doris Matsui, Joyce Beatty, Jamaal Bowman, Brian Higgins, Rick Larsen, Raúl Grijalva, Jim Langevin, and Betty McCollum.

A PDF copy of the letter can be found here.

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