1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I write to you as a constituent, a South-Yemeni-American, and a U.S. citizen deeply concerned about recent developments in South Yemen (South Arabia) and their direct implications for U.S. national security, regional stability, and American interests abroad. For years, U.S. policy toward Yemen has focused narrowly on crisis management rather than durable solutions. Today, a rare opportunity has emerged. Developments in South Yemen—backed by unprecedented, peaceful mass mobilization inside the country and across the diaspora—reflect a clear expression of popular will and a growing demand for accountable, locally legitimate governance. As an American constituent with family, cultural, and humanitarian ties to the region, I want to stress that instability in South Yemen is not an abstract foreign issue. It directly affects diaspora communities here in the United States—impacting family cohesion, mental health, humanitarian needs, and long-term integration. Stability abroad reduces humanitarian strain at home and aligns with the interests of American taxpayers. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) has emerged as the most organized and credible local partner confronting the core drivers of instability: armed extremism, illicit economies, and security vacuums exploited by hostile actors. Engagement with the STC should be viewed not as an endorsement of conflict, but as a pragmatic pathway toward stability, counterterrorism cooperation, and the containment of threats that endanger global trade routes and U.S. allies. Constructive U.S. engagement with Southern leadership offers tangible benefits: • Advancing counterterrorism objectives by working with forces that have demonstrated operational effectiveness on the ground • Supporting maritime and regional security, especially in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden • Reducing long-term humanitarian burdens that repeatedly draw U.S. emergency assistance • Aligning with key partners, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, through coordinated and transparent regional frameworks I respectfully ask that you: 1. Support increased diplomatic engagement between U.S. officials and the Southern Transitional Council as a viable local partner. 2. Encourage fact-based congressional briefings on developments in South Yemen that include Southern perspectives, not solely legacy narratives. 3. Advocate for U.S. policy approaches that recognize popular legitimacy, local governance capacity, and the right of peoples to self-determination under international law, in which massive demonstrations have shown what stands as a living referendum, mandating the calls for reinstating Southern Statehood. 4. Promote regional coordination that strengthens stability rather than preserves unresolved conflict structures. This moment calls for clarity, courage, and forward-looking leadership. Our generation—and those that follow—will live with the consequences of whether policymakers chose to confront root causes or simply managed symptoms. There is an honorable and productive path forward—if we choose to take it. Thank you for your service and for considering the perspective of your South-Yemeni-American constituents. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with your office.