Senators seek to add 2,500 visas for Afghans who helped US troops

A bipartisan quartet of senators has introduced a bill to add 2,500 visas to a program for Afghans who helped U.S. troops that has been suspended due to a shortfall in visas.

“It’s imperative that Congress act quickly to approve more visas,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said in a statement Wednesday. “This is a matter of life and death for interpreters and other support staff. As we speak, many of them are being hunted down by the Taliban and other terrorists.”

Shaheen introduced the bill with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). She said she’s hoping to tie the issue to the upcoming defense spending bill.

{mosads}Last week, the State Department confirmed the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has stopped interviewing applicants for the special immigrant visa program due to a lack of available visas. The department said it doesn’t expect to restart interviews until Congress acts.

The program is meant to help Afghans facing threats to their lives for serving as interpreters or otherwise assisting U.S. troops.

As of March 5, just 1,437 visas remained, and the number of applicants in the final stage of the process was enough to use all those, the State Department said Friday.

But there are more than 15,000 Afghans at some stage in the application process.

Last year, the same quartet of senators tried unsuccessfully to add 4,000 visas to the annual defense policy bill. Ultimately, the bill passed with 1,500 visas added to the 3,500 that were left at that point.

In his statement, McCain highlighted Gen. John Nicholson’s testimony last month that the war in Afghanistan is at a stalemate.

“We simply cannot win this war without the assistance of the Afghan people who put their lives on the line to help American troops and diplomats serving in harm’s way,” said McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Unfortunately in recent years, Congress has reneged on the promise we made to protect these brave individuals by failing to authorize the appropriate number of Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan translators and interpreters.”

Reed, the ranking member of the committee, added: “Afghanistan is, and must remain, a key pillar of our long-term global counterterrorism strategy, and to that end it is critical that we continue to foster strong ties with our allies on the ground. When Afghan citizens put their lives on the line to assist U.S. efforts, we must honor our commitment to those individuals.”

Tillis also said the U.S. has a moral obligation to protect Afghans who helped its troops.

“Falling short of this obligation would signal to the world that America is willing to turn its back on friends who stood with our nation,” he said, “a grave mistake we cannot afford to make.”