Special Immigrant Visa Program

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to also talk about an issue that has not made it into the Defense authorization bill, unlike the amendment that Senator Tillis and I support.

Sadly, help for the Afghans who aided our troops in the war in Afghanistan is not included in this Defense authorization bill. As most of us know in the Senate, the Afghan special immigrant visa program allows Afghans who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and who face threats of harm to themselves or their families because of their service--we allow them to apply for refuge in the United States through the special immigrant visa program, or SIV program.

Over the years, there has been strong bipartisan support for this effort to bring those Afghans in harm's way back to the United States. I am pleased to have worked with Senator Tillis, Senator Wicker, Senator Leahy, Senator Graham, and, of course, Senator McCain, who has been the champion in the Senate to address this issue. I am proud to partner yet again with these Senators, and we have introduced legislation to authorize 4,000 SIVs for 2019 so that we can continue to bring to the United States those people who are at risk.

Even as the administration sharply restricts immigration and refugee programs, President Trump has made an exception for those who serve alongside our soldiers and diplomats. He has included 4,000 Afghan SIVs in his budget request for this upcoming fiscal year. The support for this program truly is bipartisan.

I am here on the floor with Senator Tillis today to try to put a face on this important program.

Afghan civilians who have assisted our military as interpreters, firefighters, construction workers, and community liaisons are being targeted by the Taliban for their willingness to work with the United States. Without congressional approval, our military and our diplomats will be powerless to help those Afghans. Moreover, U.S. officials in Afghanistan will be powerless to help themselves. Unless Congress acts, this program will lapse, and our Embassy and military will unnecessarily suffer the devastating effects of this decision.

We cannot afford to break our promises to the Afghan people, to those who serve our mission with such loyalty and at such enormous risk, particularly at this time. U.S. forces--our military--and our diplomats have always relied on local people to help accomplish our mission. As we think about our future engagements, we will need this kind of support in other places in the future. What does it say to people if we renege on our promises to the Afghans? We must be aware of the message we are sending to partners around the world when we don't fulfill our duty to protect them after they have protected us. This is exactly why countless military commanders and Ambassadors have pleaded with Congress to extend the Afghan SIV program.

Behind me is a quote from Senator John McCain, a leader, as I said, in the effort to ensure the safety of Afghan SIVs. We have worked together each year since 2013, and his presence is sorely missed this year. During last year's NDAA debate, he said:

We're talking about the lives of men who have put it on the line for the men and women serving. . . . They're going to die if we don't pass this amendment and take them out of harm's way. Don't you understand the gravity of that?''

That is what Senator McCain had to say in 2016 when we were trying to get this done in the Defense authorization bill. He is right. There is no plan B for these Afghans. Either we save them by authorizing additional special immigrant visas, or they will die. They will be killed. Their families will be killed.

If Senator McCain were able to come to the floor today, I have no doubt that he would be right here with Senator Tillis and me saying the same thing. I hope that we can do Senator McCain a service by reauthorizing the program he cared so much about under the bill that bears his name.

We have also had many officials who have spoken out against attempts to limit the eligibility of applicants. Former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said:

When deciding whom to kill, the Taliban do not make such distinctions in service--nor should we when determining whom to save.

Similarly, our former commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, said:

Afghans performing a variety of roles are vital to the U.S. mission, whether they work directly or indirectly with U.S. Forces. I would urge Congress not to further erode already limited eligibility guidelines.

In addition, our soldiers and marines are keenly interested in protecting Afghan civilians who served with them. Many of them owe their lives to the Afghans in various roles who went into combat with them.

The roles in which Afghans serve range from interpreter, to lawyer, to aid administrators, to cafeteria workers.

Abdul--who doesn't want his last name used because he fears for the safety of his family back home--worked as the head waiter for American troops in Afghanistan. Despite his classification as a cafeteria employee, he helped our troops translate documents and interpret conversations they were having both on and off the base. One night he came in, and someone jumped him, beat him up, and threatened to kill him and his family if he continued to help the United States.

Abdul was recommended for a special immigrant visa by the Army sergeant he reported to, who found him the night he was attacked. The chief of mission who approved his application thought that Abdul's heartfelt service to our Nation was worthy enough to help save his life. I believe that too. He wasn't an interpreter. He wasn't part of a narrow group of Afghans who helped us. But he was there, nevertheless, putting his life on the line for Americans serving in Afghanistan.

Last year, in Keene, NH, I met with a remarkable immigrant from Afghanistan named Patmana Rafiq Kunary. Patmana had worked closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Kabul. She went door- to-door and encouraged women to take out microloans to start their own businesses. Patmana eventually became the vice president of operations for the USAID-sponsored microloan program.

Yet, for a woman in Afghanistan, going door-to-door and working closely with Americans, this was dangerous work. She drew unwelcome attention wherever she went, and she became a high-profile target for the Taliban and others. Then, one day in 2013, she received a call at her USAID office. It was from the distraught wife of a USAID colleague, an Afghan. The caller's husband had just been murdered, apparently, in retaliation for his work with the Americans.

In her realizing that her life was in danger, too, Patmana applied for a special immigrant visa. For 2 years, she and her husband were subjected to repeated interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. She told me that while those background checks were going on, they had to move periodically because, as soon as they settled someplace, the Taliban would find out where they were, and they would be threatened again. Her background was checked and rechecked before the visas were finally granted.

Now, thankfully, Patmana lives happily in Keene. Her husband has found work, and they have a 3-year-old daughter. They are welcomed as valued members of the Keene community.

When it comes to the SIV program, there is no shortage of inspiring narratives like the ones I am sharing today. It is no wonder that during his own confirmation process, the Secretary of Defense, Gen. James Mattis, said: ``Most of our units could not have accomplished their missions without the assistance, often at the risk of their lives, of these courageous men and women.''

We would never leave an American warrior behind on the battlefield. Likewise, we must not leave behind those Afghans who served side by side with our warriors and diplomats. We made a solemn promise to these brave men and women, and I know that those of us here who believe we need to keep that promise are going to do everything we can to make sure that those special immigrant visas are authorized and available next year for those thousands of Afghans who are still in the queue, who are still themselves facing threats and threats to their families because of their trying to help our military in Afghanistan.

I encourage all of my colleagues in the Senate to allow this program to continue and to not permit any ill-informed notions about the program's eligibility standards or the vetting process distract from its success and from the strong bipartisan support it receives each year. I urge my colleagues to keep our promise to our Afghan allies by supporting these efforts.

I am very pleased to be here with Senator Tillis, who is also committed to the effort of trying to get this done. I know my colleague Senator Ernst, who is here to speak, is also a supporter of this program. There is strong bipartisan support to make this happen. We should not allow one or two people to keep us from moving forward.

I thank the Presiding Officer. We will continue to work on this effort.

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