[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3900-S3902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to also talk about an issue that 
has not made it into the Defense authorization bill, unlike the 
amendment that Senator Tillis and I support.
  Sadly, help for the Afghans who aided our troops in the war in 
Afghanistan is not included in this Defense authorization bill. As most 
of us know in

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the Senate, the Afghan special immigrant visa program allows Afghans 
who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and who face threats of 
harm to themselves or their families because of their service--we allow 
them to apply for refuge in the United States through the special 
immigrant visa program, or SIV program.
  Over the years, there has been strong bipartisan support for this 
effort to bring those Afghans in harm's way back to the United States. 
I am pleased to have worked with Senator Tillis, Senator Wicker, 
Senator Leahy, Senator Graham, and, of course, Senator McCain, who has 
been the champion in the Senate to address this issue. I am proud to 
partner yet again with these Senators, and we have introduced 
legislation to authorize 4,000 SIVs for 2019 so that we can continue to 
bring to the United States those people who are at risk.
  Even as the administration sharply restricts immigration and refugee 
programs, President Trump has made an exception for those who serve 
alongside our soldiers and diplomats. He has included 4,000 Afghan SIVs 
in his budget request for this upcoming fiscal year. The support for 
this program truly is bipartisan.
  I am here on the floor with Senator Tillis today to try to put a face 
on this important program.
  Afghan civilians who have assisted our military as interpreters, 
firefighters, construction workers, and community liaisons are being 
targeted by the Taliban for their willingness to work with the United 
States. Without congressional approval, our military and our diplomats 
will be powerless to help those Afghans. Moreover, U.S. officials in 
Afghanistan will be powerless to help themselves. Unless Congress acts, 
this program will lapse, and our Embassy and military will 
unnecessarily suffer the devastating effects of this decision.
  We cannot afford to break our promises to the Afghan people, to those 
who serve our mission with such loyalty and at such enormous risk, 
particularly at this time. U.S. forces--our military--and our diplomats 
have always relied on local people to help accomplish our mission. As 
we think about our future engagements, we will need this kind of 
support in other places in the future. What does it say to people if we 
renege on our promises to the Afghans? We must be aware of the message 
we are sending to partners around the world when we don't fulfill our 
duty to protect them after they have protected us. This is exactly why 
countless military commanders and Ambassadors have pleaded with 
Congress to extend the Afghan SIV program.
  Behind me is a quote from Senator John McCain, a leader, as I said, 
in the effort to ensure the safety of Afghan SIVs. We have worked 
together each year since 2013, and his presence is sorely missed this 
year. During last year's NDAA debate, he said:

       We're talking about the lives of men who have put it on the 
     line for the men and women serving. . . . They're going to 
     die if we don't pass this amendment and take them out of 
     harm's way. Don't you understand the gravity of that?''

  That is what Senator McCain had to say in 2016 when we were trying to 
get this done in the Defense authorization bill. He is right. There is 
no plan B for these Afghans. Either we save them by authorizing 
additional special immigrant visas, or they will die. They will be 
killed. Their families will be killed.
  If Senator McCain were able to come to the floor today, I have no 
doubt that he would be right here with Senator Tillis and me saying the 
same thing. I hope that we can do Senator McCain a service by 
reauthorizing the program he cared so much about under the bill that 
bears his name.
  We have also had many officials who have spoken out against attempts 
to limit the eligibility of applicants. Former U.S. Ambassador to 
Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said:

       When deciding whom to kill, the Taliban do not make such 
     distinctions in service--nor should we when determining whom 
     to save.

  Similarly, our former commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley 
McChrystal, said:

       Afghans performing a variety of roles are vital to the U.S. 
     mission, whether they work directly or indirectly with U.S. 
     Forces. I would urge Congress not to further erode already 
     limited eligibility guidelines.

  In addition, our soldiers and marines are keenly interested in 
protecting Afghan civilians who served with them. Many of them owe 
their lives to the Afghans in various roles who went into combat with 
them.
  The roles in which Afghans serve range from interpreter, to lawyer, 
to aid administrators, to cafeteria workers.
  Abdul--who doesn't want his last name used because he fears for the 
safety of his family back home--worked as the head waiter for American 
troops in Afghanistan. Despite his classification as a cafeteria 
employee, he helped our troops translate documents and interpret 
conversations they were having both on and off the base. One night he 
came in, and someone jumped him, beat him up, and threatened to kill 
him and his family if he continued to help the United States.
  Abdul was recommended for a special immigrant visa by the Army 
sergeant he reported to, who found him the night he was attacked. The 
chief of mission who approved his application thought that Abdul's 
heartfelt service to our Nation was worthy enough to help save his 
life. I believe that too. He wasn't an interpreter. He wasn't part of a 
narrow group of Afghans who helped us. But he was there, nevertheless, 
putting his life on the line for Americans serving in Afghanistan.
  Last year, in Keene, NH, I met with a remarkable immigrant from 
Afghanistan named Patmana Rafiq Kunary. Patmana had worked closely with 
the U.S. Agency for International Development in Kabul. She went door-
to-door and encouraged women to take out microloans to start their own 
businesses. Patmana eventually became the vice president of operations 
for the USAID-sponsored microloan program.

  Yet, for a woman in Afghanistan, going door-to-door and working 
closely with Americans, this was dangerous work. She drew unwelcome 
attention wherever she went, and she became a high-profile target for 
the Taliban and others. Then, one day in 2013, she received a call at 
her USAID office. It was from the distraught wife of a USAID colleague, 
an Afghan. The caller's husband had just been murdered, apparently, in 
retaliation for his work with the Americans.
  In her realizing that her life was in danger, too, Patmana applied 
for a special immigrant visa. For 2 years, she and her husband were 
subjected to repeated interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. She told 
me that while those background checks were going on, they had to move 
periodically because, as soon as they settled someplace, the Taliban 
would find out where they were, and they would be threatened again. Her 
background was checked and rechecked before the visas were finally 
granted.
  Now, thankfully, Patmana lives happily in Keene. Her husband has 
found work, and they have a 3-year-old daughter. They are welcomed as 
valued members of the Keene community.
  When it comes to the SIV program, there is no shortage of inspiring 
narratives like the ones I am sharing today. It is no wonder that 
during his own confirmation process, the Secretary of Defense, Gen. 
James Mattis, said: ``Most of our units could not have accomplished 
their missions without the assistance, often at the risk of their 
lives, of these courageous men and women.''
  We would never leave an American warrior behind on the battlefield. 
Likewise, we must not leave behind those Afghans who served side by 
side with our warriors and diplomats. We made a solemn promise to these 
brave men and women, and I know that those of us here who believe we 
need to keep that promise are going to do everything we can to make 
sure that those special immigrant visas are authorized and available 
next year for those thousands of Afghans who are still in the queue, 
who are still themselves facing threats and threats to their families 
because of their trying to help our military in Afghanistan.
  I encourage all of my colleagues in the Senate to allow this program 
to continue and to not permit any ill-informed notions about the 
program's eligibility standards or the vetting process distract from 
its success and from the strong bipartisan support it receives each 
year. I urge my colleagues to keep our promise to our Afghan allies by 
supporting these efforts.
  I am very pleased to be here with Senator Tillis, who is also 
committed

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to the effort of trying to get this done. I know my colleague Senator 
Ernst, who is here to speak, is also a supporter of this program. There 
is strong bipartisan support to make this happen. We should not allow 
one or two people to keep us from moving forward.
  I thank the Presiding Officer. We will continue to work on this 
effort.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Tillis). The Senator from Iowa.

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