Washington D.C. – Church World Service (CWS) welcomes the announcement of a new re-parole process that will allow certain Afghan evacuees to remain in the United States. This new process, which opened on June 8, 2023, will be available to Afghans who arrived under Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) and were provided temporary parole protections.
The administration has already taken laudable steps to ensure the new process is accessible and efficient. The application will come at no cost to applicants, and those with already pending applications for asylum or other permanent status will not need to apply for the new process as their cases will automatically be considered for an extension of parole protections.
“We welcome the announcement of a re-parole process, a necessary step to provide some level of stability and security for relocated Afghans. But this announcement does not mean the work is done – the administration must work diligently to continue to ensure the process is accessible and supports continuity of services, benefits, and protections for those with pending applications.” said Danilo Zak, Acting Director of Policy and Advocacy at CWS. “The fact that these temporary parole protections continue to be so necessary highlights the urgent need for Congress to pass an Afghan Adjustment Act and provide a clear path to a permanent status. We must continue to call for permanency and stability for our Afghan neighbors.”
Since the fall of Kabul and the Afghan evacuation in 2021, the U.S. has welcomed more than 76,000 Afghans on a temporary basis via humanitarian parole, which provided only two years of protection and no clear path to permanent status. Despite the fact that the majority of Afghan parolees are eligible for asylum or Special Immigrant Visas, fewer than 10% have secured permanent protections now almost two years after they arrived.
This reality illustrates how crucial the new re-parole process is – and highlights the ongoing need for Congress to provide a clear path to permanent protections by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act.