A Moral Imperative: Stand Behind Our Allies in Afghanistan

While the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense are currently evacuating embassy staff and U.S. nationals from Kabul, Afghanistan after the fall of the city to the Taliban, the International Institute of New England strongly encourages the Biden administration to support our Afghan allies and safely evacuate and welcome all individuals who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) or Priority 2 (P-2) Refugee status immediately.

The following is a statement by Jeff Thielman, president and CEO, International Institute of New England – an organization that welcomes Afghan allies through the SIV and P-2 Refugee programs:

“We must evacuate our Afghan allies now to the U.S or a U.S. territory. Currently, there are almost 88,000 allies and family members in the Special Visa Application process who are in grave danger. These at-risk Afghans supported US troops for more than 20 years. The U.S. has the capacity and the moral responsibility to bring our allies out now.

In addition to our allies being processed through the SIV program, we must prioritize processing for eligible Afghans and their families through the P-2 Refugee program and ensure our allies in Afghanistan are safely evacuated and timely processed.”