PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact:
Laila Ayub, laila@projectanar.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2021

120 Organizations Call for Transparency, Action Following Freeze in Afghan Humanitarian Parole Application Process 

Despite grassroots efforts by an Afghan-led organization to file thousands of applications, the humanitarian parole process remains frozen and opaque.

Nearly 120 organizations have signed on to a letter calling for transparency and action on Humanitarian Parole applications from Afghans. The letter, led by Project ANAR (Afghan Network for Advocacy and Resources), was directed to the Biden Administration and members of Congress, and demanded accountability and clarity on thousands of applications filed by the group.

Project ANAR is an Afghan-led immigration organization that is connecting over 9,000 Afghans with over one thousand legal volunteers in order to apply for Humanitarian Parole to the United States. An outpouring of grassroots financial support has also raised more than $350,000 to help pay the USCIS $575 filing fee per application, which Project ANAR has distributed to cover fees for hundreds of Afghans’ applications. 

Throughout the United States, more than 30,000 humanitarian parole applications are anticipated to be filed by non-profit organizations in order to assist vulnerable Afghans in obtaining refuge from the Taliban.  Despite these efforts, reports have emerged that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not granted any Humanitarian Parole applications since August 31, 2021 for anyone who remains in Afghanistan. Advocates are now demanding clarity about the fate of thousands of vulnerable Afghan refugees.

“We have a duty both to our clients, and to the amazing volunteers and donors who have helped us collectively file thousands of these applications, to allow Afghans to seek asylum and reunite with family in the U.S. We cannot provide them guidance or ensure that these efforts are properly directed unless the administration clarifies what is happening and what it plans to do with these applications,” said Laila Ayub, an immigration attorney and coordinator for Project ANAR. 

The letter focuses on five key demands from advocates:

  1. Public Transparency

  2. Congressional Hearing and Oversight

  3. Community Coordination

  4. Safe Passage

  5. New Pathway to Relief

For a full explanation of these demands, read the letter here.

“The United States owes a unique duty to the people of Afghanistan given not only the events of the last year, but the last few decades in the region. The least our government can do is act in good faith in responding to this community-led effort to provide critical support to Afghans,” said Wogai Mohmand, an attorney and coordinator for Project ANAR. 

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