1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

In August of 2021, I received a desperate plea for help from an Afghan family; the father had been killed by the Taliban and their daughter had a tear gas canister explode in her face, causing dangerous blisters that put her at immediate risk of sepsis. Working with people inside and outside the US government we were able to provide lifesaving intervention and get her family to the US. Hers is one of many families I worked with over the course of Enduring Welcome as a civilian volunteer. Since August 2021, Enduring Welcome has safely moved thousands of Afghan allies to the United States through both the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) categories. These two pathways are equally critical—each includes people who risked their lives to support U.S. missions, including interpreters, drivers, partner force members, civil society leaders, and their families. On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed executive orders that caused Enduring Welcome to halt. At the time, I believed this was an unintended consequence of broader immigration changes. Now, I’m deeply concerned that this was part of a broader strategy to shut the program down entirely. I understand that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has asked the State Department to use the remaining funds to permanently wind down Enduring Welcome by the end of FY2025. That would leave tens of thousands of allies behind and abandon the infrastructure built to protect them. Why This Matters to Me • Over 200,000 Afghans remain in the U.S. government’s pipeline, including:

 ◦ Thousands in Afghanistan who have already cleared vetting and are awaiting relocation

 ◦ More than 3,000 family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, currently stranded due to paused processing

 ◦ Members of partner forces who served directly alongside American troops

 ◦ Over 200 U.S. citizens who are still trapped in Afghanistan

 • The SIV visa cap is nearly exhausted, even though tens of thousands of applicants have been approved and are waiting

 • Enduring Welcome is the only large-scale legal relocation mechanism still functioning Ending this program now would be a strategic, moral, and humanitarian failure. It would send the message that our country does not stand by its word. I respectfully ask that you: 1 Reject any effort to prematurely shut down Enduring Welcome, which is legally authorized through December 2027 2 Ensure that full funding for Enduring Welcome and CARE operations is included in FY2025 appropriations 3 Support additional SIV allocations and increased refugee processing capacity to meet the clear and ongoing need 4 Insist that the Trump Administration comply with congressional intent and continue Enduring Welcome operations through the full authorization period. This is not just about immigration policy. It’s about national honor. I want to live in a country that keeps its promises—and I’m asking for your help to make sure it does.