Democrats, Republicans sponsor bill to give thousands of Afghans path to citizenship

WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Bipartisan laws has been launched in each homes of U.S. Congress to ascertain a path to American citizenship for 1000’s of Afghan evacuees admitted to america on short-term immigration standing, the sponsors introduced on Tuesday.

The invoice additionally would develop eligibility for Particular Immigration Visas (SIVs) past Afghans who labored for the U.S. authorities to those that fought alongside U.S. forces as commandoes and air drive personnel, and to ladies who served in particular counterterrorism groups.

Similar variations of the invoice had been launched days earlier than the primary anniversary of the ultimate U.S. troop withdrawal and the chaotic evacuation operation that ended America’s longest battle and noticed the Taliban overrun Kabul.

“We should preserve our dedication to offer protected, authorized refuge to those that willingly put their lives on the road to help the U.S. mission in Afghanistan,” Democratic Consultant Earl Blumenauer, co-sponsor of the Home invoice with Republican Peter Meijer, mentioned in a press release.

Three minority Republicans, together with Senator Lindsey Graham, joined three majority Democrats in introducing an an identical model of the Afghanistan Adjustment Act within the thinly divided Senate, enhancing its probabilities of passage.

Even so, a congressional aide, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned the measure seemingly will face “resistance” from anti-immigration Republicans.

Most of the 76,000 Afghans flown out in final 12 months’s evacuation operation entered america on humanitarian parole, a short lived immigration standing that sometimes solely lasts as much as two years.

The laws would enable these evacuees to use for everlasting authorized standing in the event that they undergo further background checks.

Usually, these Afghans solely can achieve everlasting authorized standing in america by making use of for asylum or by SIVs, applications beset by main backlogs.

Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Modifying by Sam Holmes

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