Rep. Sylvia Garcia and Rep. Dan Crenshaw lead Members of Congress to ask DHS, State Department, to provide resources for efficient processing of visas for U.S.-allied interpreters and aides in Afghanistan

Washington D.C --Today, a bi-partisan coalition of members of Congress led by Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-2), sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, asking the two agencies to provide sufficient resources to help efficiently process applications for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) by U.S.-allied civilian interpreters, contractors and aides in Afghanistan.

This letter was sent to Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken on the heels of President Biden's meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and with the deadline for American withdrawal from Afghanistan just 3 months away. Nearly 18,000 Afghans remain stuck in a backlog for visas to immigrate to the United States, a number that rises to over 70,000 when their immediate family members are included.

"Local contractors, interpreters, and aides provided vital assistance to our servicemen and women in uniform as they did their jobs in Afghanistan," said Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia (TX-29). "We cannot abandon our civilian allies to retribution and execution, and delays to the process of getting them to safety are unacceptable. At least 300 have already died. The more we delay, the more families are put at risk. Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken need to act now."

Since the start of the War in Afghanistan in 2001, the No One Left Behind non-profit organization estimates at least 300 Afghan allies and family members have been killed in retribution for their services to the United States.

"My Afghan interpreter Raqman was killed by the IED that took my eye and nearly blinded me," said Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02). "Raqman and countless Afghan interpreters like him were invaluable to our mission and we owe them better than to leave them stranded, fighting for their lives and the lives of their families, as we hastily exit the country. We made a commitment that we would ensure their safety in return for their service, and we cannot forget that promise. We need to give them priority with special immigration visas and get them safely out of Afghanistan immediately. They earned this through their dedicated service and we must follow through."

The letter also asked the two agencies to make financial services available to SIV recipients for plane tickets and other purchases related to travel. This provision is meant to reduce the time SIV recipients spend under threat in Afghanistan, getting them to the safety as quickly as possible.

The letter is signed by 72 Democratic and Republican representatives, listed below:

Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-4), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-03), Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02), Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Rep. Val Demings (FL-20), Rep. Ed Case (HI-01), Rep. James P. McGovern (MA-02), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-02), Rep. Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01), Rep. Sharice L. Davids (KS-03), Del. Eleanor Homes Norton (DC), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05), Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr (NJ-06), Rep. David N. Cicilline (RI-01), Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Rep. Brian Mast (FL-18), Rep. Conor Lamb (PA-17), Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26), Rep. Michael Waltz (FL-6), Rep. Don Young (AK), Rep. Colin Allred (TX-32), Rep. Austin Scott (GA-08), Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr (NJ-09), Rep. Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Susan Wild (PA-15), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-05), Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rep. Mike Doyle (PA-18), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33), Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Rep. David E. Price (NC-04), Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03), Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07), Rep. Peter Welch (VT), Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-21), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14), Rep. Brian Babin, D.D.S. (TX-36), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Rep. Al Green (TX-09), Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (FL-12), Rep. Al Lawson, Jr. (FL-05), Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04), Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Rep. Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13), Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21)