Afghanistan is one of the world’s largest refugee-producing countries. There are currently over 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world. The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan is a humanitarian crisis that has left 3.5 million people internally displaced. There were 700,180 newly displaced people within Afghanistan between January and November 2021. (OCHA) 59% of those displaced are children under the age of 18.

On August 15, 2021, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban took control of the capital. The U.S., in addition to other international governments, has carried out a rapid evacuation process to ensure the safety of fleeing Afghans. Episcopal Migration Ministries, the refugee resettlement and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church, is currently working in partnership with the U.S. government to assist our Afghan allies with resettlement and direct services through a network of 11 affiliates across the U.S.

As we continue to welcome and resettle Afghan allies to the U.S. through our affiliate network, the greatest need continues to be assistance with housing. Your financial donation will directly support providing basic services and assistance with housing to newly arrived Afghan allies and assist EMM expanding its work in developing sponsorships for Afghan allies. Make a donation online or donate by mail and send checks to:

DFMS-Protestant Episcopal Church US
P.O. Box 958983
St. Louis, MO 63195-8983
(Include Episcopal Migration Ministries and Afghan allies in the memo line.)

Through Neighbor to Neighbor (NtN), EMM directly trains and provides ongoing support to faith communities who serve as community sponsors their new neighbors. Community sponsors welcome their new neighbors by offering friendship, fostering community connections, and providing practical support such as housing, assistance in accessing services and navigating the community, enrolling children in school, supporting adults in learning English and securing employment, and more. Fill out an initial interest form to schedule a meeting with The Rev. Chris McNabb, Program Manager for Neighbor to Neighbor.

Urge Congress to Support the Afghan Adjustment Act

Thousands of Afghans have arrived to the United States with many more being processed and screened at U.S. military bases overseas. Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) and the other refugee resettlement agencies have taken enormous steps to resettle these arrivals. While we praise Congress for passing legislation that expands the number of Afghan arrivals eligible for refugee resettlement benefits and provided EMM with funding to assist with resettling these individuals, long-term legal and administrative hurdles remain that prevent the full integration of our newest neighbors.

In response to these challenges, we are renewing our call to Congress to introduce and pass an Afghan Adjustment Act that would create a specific program allowing all Afghan arrivals to directly apply for a green card without needing to go through alternate channels such as the asylum system.

This problem is especially acute for Afghans who arrived through a process known as humanitarian parole. Under parole, Afghans can enter and stay in the United States like their compatriots who arrive through other programs such as the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) and the U.S. Refugee Admissions programs. While the latter two programs provide Afghans with dedicated channels to apply for a green card, individuals arriving through parole receive a temporary status that lacks these dedicated channels. Instead, these individuals must find other ways to seek a green card, including applying through the asylum program which has a severe backlog of cases that can leave these individuals waiting for the resolution of their cases for years.

Taking the steps proposed in the Afghan Adjustment Act would continue to fulfill the Church’s call to promote the full social and integration of newcomers to the United States, including refugees seeking protection in the United States. The Church’s members can send the rewritten message to their Senators and Representatives to ensure that we finish the year having laid the foundations for the successful integration of our Afghan allies.