Carper, Menendez, Colleagues Call on Administration to Recommit Efforts to Protect At-Risk Afghans Applying for Humanitarian Parole into U.S.

Press Release

U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today joined 13 of their Senate colleagues in writing a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to express concern over reports of high denial rates for Afghans applying for humanitarian parole into the United States in the wake of the Taliban's takeover and the use of an untenably high standard of proof to determine eligibility for the more than 35,000 Afghans who applied.

"While we have always maintained that proper vetting is an essential part of the humanitarian parole process, we are greatly concerned that the Administration is holding Afghan nationals seeking humanitarian parole to an unreasonably high standard, creating barriers to safe haven in the United States," the senators wrote. "We strongly believe that the United States must remain true to its commitments to protect vulnerable Afghans through advancing a fair, transparent, and expeditious humanitarian parole process, through which Afghans both in and outside of Afghanistan will have the opportunity to seek safe haven in the United States."

The senators also underscored their concerns that the Administration is not fulfilling its pledge to protect at-risk Afghans, including women leaders, activists, human rights defenders, and journalists, who were expressly advised to apply for humanitarian parole into the United States.

Joining Senators Carper and Menendez in signing the letter were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).

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