WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Honoring our Promises Working Group, today voted in favor of H.R. 3985, the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs (ALLIES) Act of 2021, a bill he cosponsors to protect our Afghan partners and expedite the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) process. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support, and Rep. Meijer spoke on the floor urging passage.
The full text of Rep. Meijer’s remarks as prepared is below:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the ALLIES Act.
“It is our moral obligation to honor the promises we made to our Afghan allies and ensure that those who risked their lives for the U.S. mission are safely relocated.
“But it is patently clear that the Special Immigrant Visa program as it currently exists is not up to the task. Staffing shortages and bureaucratic hurdles have resulted in years-long delays in the process and a backlog of over 18,000 applications.
“The ALLIES Act will help speed up the process by streamlining duplicative procedures and removing unnecessary requirements, while maintaining the necessary security and vetting procedures. It also expands eligibility for those who were unfairly left out of the program, most critically surviving spouses and children of applicants who died or were killed by the Taliban before visa approval.
“Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by the recent news of the plans to begin evacuating some of these Afghan interpreters. But make no mistake, there is much more to be done. We have a responsibility to ensure that those who risked their lives serving alongside U.S. and coalition forces are both swiftly evacuated and given a path to safety.
“This bill is a significant step towards that goal, and it will help ensure that America lives up to the promises made to those brave individuals and their families. I am proud to support this bill, and I call on all of my colleagues to do so today.
“I urge passage, and I yield back.”
The ALLIES Act of 2021 would:
- Increase the Afghan SIV cap by an additional 8,000 visas;
- Remove the requirement for a “credible sworn statement” regarding the threat applicants face for having worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government, since both public and clandestine reporting confirm that Afghans who have worked for the U.S. face heightened risk of retribution from the Taliban.
- Remove the requirement for International Security Assistance Force or Resolute Support employment to be “sensitive and trusted”, expanding the field of qualified applicants.
