Washington, D.C.— This week, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) sent a letter to President Biden asking for clarity about the status of American citizens and Afghan partners left behind following the August 2021 withdrawal of United States forces.

Emmer said, “Last year’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan was a preventable tragedy that left hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of our Afghan partners at the mercy of the Taliban. This is a cruel injustice to individuals who collectively saved countless American lives.”

“The Administration has been less than transparent about the scope of this disaster, especially as it pertains to the number of individuals still urgently seeking evacuation. The Biden Administration cannot ignore away this failure,” Emmer concluded.

Specifically, the letter demands answers on the number of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who wish to be evacuated, and seeks more information about the status of our Afghan partners seeking to enter the United States through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process.

Background:

Emmer has long been a champion of Afghan SIV applicants. Weeks prior to the Biden Administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, Emmer wrote a letter to President Biden seeking answers about efforts to help our Afghan partners. The Biden Administration never provided a substantive response to this July 2021 letter.

You can read more about Emmer’s response to the Afghanistan withdrawal here.

You can read Emmer’s most recent letter in full here.

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