Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week we are signing a letter to our members of Congress urging them to support the introduction and passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act.

Over the last few weeks, several thousand Afghans have arrived to the United States with many more being processed and screened at U.S. military bases overseas. Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) and the other refugee resettlement agencies have taken enormous steps to resettle these arrivals. While Congress passed legislation that expands the number of Afghan arrivals eligible for refugee resettlement benefits and provided EMM with funding to assist with resettling these individuals, long-term legal and administrative hurdles remain that prevent the full integration of our newest neighbors.

In response to these challenges, we are renewing our call to Congress to introduce and pass an Afghan Adjustment Act that would create a specific program allowing all Afghan arrivals to directly apply for a green card without needing to go through alternate channels such as the asylum system.

This problem is especially acute for Afghans who arrived through a process known as humanitarian parole. Under parole, Afghans can enter and stay in the United States like their compatriots who arrive through other programs such as the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) and the U.S. Refugee Admissions programs. While the latter two programs provide Afghans with dedicated channels to apply for a green card, individuals arriving through parole receive a temporary status that lacks these dedicated channels. Instead, these individuals must find other ways to seek a green card, including applying through the asylum program which has a severe backlog of cases that can leave these individuals waiting for the resolution of their cases for years.

Taking the steps proposed in the Afghan Adjustment Act would continue to promote the full social and economic integration of newcomers to the United States, including refugees seeking protection in the United States, having laid the foundations for the successful integration of our Afghan allies.

Options to Sign:

1. Sign a letter at the Action Table Sunday morning.
2. Download a PDF copy of the letter to sign and mail.

Letter used at the Action Table.       Letter used for those outside of California.

3. Click on this link to sign a petition online.

If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

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Support the Resettlement of Refugees

Episcopal Migration Ministries, the refugee resettlement and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church, is currently working in partnership with the U.S. government to assist Afghan SIVs and other arrivals with resettlement and direct services through a network of 11 affiliates across the U.S. As we continue to welcome and resettle Afghans to the U.S. through our affiliate network and engagement programs, the greatest need continues to be assistance with housing. Those who want to financially support these efforts can make a donation online here or donate by mail and send checks to:

DFMS-Protestant Episcopal Church US
P.O. Box 958983
St. Louis, MO 63195-8983
(Include “Episcopal Migration Ministries and Afghan SIV’s” in the memo line)

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If you are interested in volunteer opportunities or community sponsorship in support of our Afghan allies, please fill out this interest form. Finally, information for Afghan nationals about the resettlement efforts is available here. We thank everyone for offering their support as Episcopal Migration Ministries carries out this critical work.