Press Statement | August 11, 2022

ECDC Welcomes the Introduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act

The Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc. (ECDC) welcomes the bi-partisan introduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act in both houses of the 117th Congress this week. “This is a step in the right direction, which, once passed, will give lasting protection to Afghans who risked their lives to support the U.S. mission overseas,” said Tsehaye Teferra, Ph.D., President and CEO.”

“We are happy that our Afghan clients will have a pathway to legal permanent residence here, find stability, no longer live in fear of being returned to Afghanistan, and have the means to reunite with their families. ECDC looks forward to the swift passage of this legislation to make all of this a reality,” he added.

Introduced just days ahead of the first anniversary of the launch of Operation Allies Welcome, this piece of legislation must be swiftly passed if the Afghan parolees resettled across the United States are to find stability as they work hard to establish their lives here.

Over the past year, the U.S. has welcomed almost 80,000 at-risk Afghans through what is known as humanitarian parole—a temporary immigration status. The Afghan Adjustment Act, if passed, will address this legal uncertainty by allowing Afghans to apply for lawful permanent resident status, avoid years of asylum processing and family separation, and save government resources.