Action Alert

Tell your Rep to co-sponsor the WELCOMED Act today!

A significant number of our Afghan allies and friends arriving to our country are being put through yet another set of unnecessary challenges. Many of the Afghans recently evacuated to the United States came on humanitarian parole. The current ‘parolee’ system they were provided was necessary due to the rushed evacuation. Yet it offers only brief and limited assistance which does not sufficiently address the needs of arriving Afghans who have lost the only home they have known.

Our nation’s moral obligation to the people of Afghanistan, especially those to whom we promised protection and safe refuge, goes far beyond just evacuation. We can and must ensure Afghan refugees arriving through humanitarian parole are assisted with resettlement and receive the same basic services and resources other refugees and Special Immigrant Visa recipients have traditionally received. There is no reason to create two classes of refugees in our country.

The Welcoming Evacuees Coming from Overseas to Mitigate Effects of Displacement Act of 2021, or the WELCOMED Act, was introduced on September 3 by Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) specifically to address the gaps in assistance and support for Afghan evacuees arriving in the U.S. under “humanitarian parole.”

If passed, the WELCOMED Act would provide evacuated Afghans with the same basic services and resources other refugees and Special Immigrant Visa recipients have traditionally received.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is the only member of the Washington State Congressional delegation to co-sponsor the WELCOMED Act so far.

Tell your Rep to co-sponsor the WELCOMED Act today by calling and emailing -- script below!

• Suzan DelBene (202) 225-6311 EMAIL

• Rick Larsen (202) 225-2605 EMAIL

• Jaime Herrera Beutler (202) 225-3536 EMAIL

• Dan Newhouse (202) 225-5816 EMAIL

• Cathy McMorris Rodgers (202) 225-2006 EMAIL

• Derek Kilmer (202) 225-5916 EMAIL

• Kim Schrier (202) 225-7761 EMAIL

• Adam Smith (202) 225-8901 EMAIL

• Marilyn Strickland (202) 225-9740 EMAIL

And don’t forget to thank Congresswoman Jayapal!

• Pramila Jayapal (202) 225-3106 EMAIL

Script:

My name is [NAME] and I’m in [CITY]. I’m calling to ask Rep [NAME] to co-sponsor the WELCOMED Act, H.R. 5168. This bill ensures that Afghan allies and families forced to escape Afghanistan through the “humanitarian parole” program have access to the same services as refugees who are resettled through the U.S. refugee resettlement program. At least 50,000 Afghans are expected to be admitted into the U.S. under humanitarian parole as part of the U.S. commitment to helping those who aided the American war effort and others who are particularly vulnerable under Taliban rule. We should make sure that we properly integrate these families and set them up for success in building their new lives here. The WELCOMED Act does that. Will Rep [NAME] co-sponsor and champion this important bipartisan bill?