Meng Joins Bicameral Letter to Biden Administration Requesting Answers to Inconsistent Approach Adopted Toward Afghans Who Have Applied for Humanitarian Parole in the U.S.

December 20, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, joined Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) and U.S. Senator Ed Markey's (D-MA) letter to President Biden, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ur Jaddou requesting answers from the Administration regarding the high number of Afghan humanitarian parole applications that have been denied, and the inconsistent standards applied to applications from those in Afghanistan.
"We cannot turn our backs on those who remain in Afghanistan," said Congresswoman Meng. "I have unfortunately heard from organizations seeking to help vulnerable Afghans leave the country that parole applications are being denied right and left, some due to a lack of ‘evidence' that they were in danger. The current situation in Afghanistan clearly meets the criteria of ‘compelling reasons' to quickly parole these vulnerable individuals into the United States. That is why this letter is so important. The Administration needs to take urgent action to create a special parole program for Afghans as previous administrations have done in the past to ensure we are addressing the unique urgency this situation demands."
The correspondence specifically asks the Biden Administration to answer a number of questions regarding the blanket parole denials, including:
  • How many humanitarian parole applications related to the Afghanistan situation have been approved and how many have been denied?
  • How many of these applications have been issued Requests for Evidence?
  • To what extent are Afghan nationals who applied for humanitarian parole considered for inclusion in the Operation Allies Welcome parole pipeline?
A copy of the full letter can be viewed here.
In August, Meng helped lead a bipartisan letter to Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary of State Blinken urging the administration to take concrete steps to support the relocation of Afghan allies.