Between July 2021 and May 2022, Afghans filed more than 66,000 applications for Humanitarian Parole, in an attempt to access one of the only pathways available to them to seek refuge and family reunification in the U.S., and often at the urging of people within the U.S. government.
Our organization came together during the U.S. military withdrawal as an organic, community-led effort to offer legal assistance to Afghans who found themselves filing these applications, and we quickly shifted towards putting pressure on the U.S. government to meaningfully process the applications and offer pathways for Afghans. We were uniquely positioned as legal practitioners from the Afghan American community, with a particular expertise in humanitarian parole and protection pathways.
Through documents obtained by FOIA, we learned in 2022 that the U.S. took nearly $20 million in fees during that time frame alone. A coalition of more than 200 organizations, including members of the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition, requested a parole program for Afghans formally in October 2021, December 2021, and February 2022. The ACLU of Massachusetts filed suit to challenge the way that these applications are being treated.
The U.S. owes it to Afghans after decades of foreign policy decisions that have produced the conditions that Afghans are now fleeing. Instead, we have gotten nothing but excuses on the part of the government, and denials. USCIS has approved only 123 Afghan HP applications since last July.
Our efforts and constant engagement with federal agencies and the White House created some notable changes, including a shift in adjudication standards and an opportunity to submit new evidence for applications denied based on past standards. These changes, however, fell short in the face of massive relocation and family reunification needs.
While the U.S. refused to create an Afghan parole program, it rolled out Uniting for Ukraine, a online portal with no fee attached, that quickly resulted in 68,000 approvals in a matter of weeks. These glaring disparities made it more clear that the U.S. could do more for Afghans but lacked the political will to do so. Under the Trump administration, parole as a mechanism is under attack.
Additional Background
We continue to bear witness to this injustice by sharing the data, sharing stories of impact, and elevating these stories with policymakers while we advocate for an end to restrictive immigration policies impacting those seeking pathways to the U.S. and those already here. Humanitarian parole applications are not directly impacted by the Travel Bans, but the administration has consistently remained anti-parole and mischaracterized the use of parole, which is a broad discretional authority held by the executive branch.
Parole remains a potential lifeline and complementary pathway to traditional resettlement and protection pathways, particularly at times of urgent need and in exceptional cases. If your cases remain pending, please note that it is unlikely that they will be processed or approved at this time.
If you want to learn more about what was done and what information we have about parole:
There is also ongoing litigation on this issue. Learn more about the ACLU of Massachusetts lawsuit here, which addresses the policy changes towards Afghan HP applicants.
Data on Afghan HP Applications
The American Immigration Council (AIC) and IRAP filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gather data on the adjudication of Afghan HP applications. You can find AIC’s report on the findings here. IRAP’s report on the FOIA data findings are linked here.
In addition, Reveal News worked alongside Project ANAR to report findings for a separate FOIA request for data. You can see our report here.
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