On August 31, President Biden ended operations in Afghanistan, but hundreds of thousands of Afghan allies and other at-risk Afghans have been left behind. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is continuing the fight to get them to safety. 

“The immense joy we have felt for our few clients who managed to escape, primarily through sheer luck and their own perseverance, has been overshadowed by the pain and frustration we feel for those hundreds of thousands who remain trapped. The unwillingness of the U.S. government to protect these trusted allies is an unconscionable failure that could have been avoided,” said Adam Bates, IRAP's Policy Counsel.

The promise the United States made to Afghan allies will not be fulfilled until they are safe in the United States and on a pathway to citizenship in their new home. IRAP has issued recommendations outlining concrete, immediate actions the U.S. government can take to ensure that at-risk Afghans do not languish for years in legal limbo.

Remind President Biden that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to protect Afghan allies who were left behind, and the conclusion of the military withdrawal must not end efforts to bring them to safety.