05/15/2025 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

        HJR 13-AFGHANS, SP. IMMIGRANT VISAS, ASSISTANCE                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:03:54 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI announced the consideration  of CS FOR HOUSE JOINT                                                               
RESOLUTION NO. 13(MLV) Urging the  President of the United States                                                               
to  expand  evacuation  efforts   for  applicants  with  approved                                                               
Special  Immigrant  Visas,  including  resumption  of  evacuation                                                               
flights  organized  by  the  Coordinator  for  Afghan  Relocation                                                               
Efforts; urging the  United States Department of  State to secure                                                               
legal  protections   and  humanitarian  assistance   for  Special                                                               
Immigrant Visa  applicants; urging the United  States Citizenship                                                               
and  Immigration  Services in  the  United  States Department  of                                                               
Homeland  Security to  expedite  the review  of applications  for                                                               
Special Immigrant  Visas; and requesting  that the  United States                                                               
Secretary  of  State  provide  a  report  to  Congress  regarding                                                               
efforts  to  reinstate  evacuation flights  for  applicants  with                                                               
approved Special Immigrant Visas.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:04:25 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE   WILL   STAPP,    District   32,   Alaska   State                                                               
Legislature,  Juneau, Alaska,  sponsor of  HJR 13  summarized the                                                               
sponsor statement as follows:                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
                  Sponsor Statement for HJR 13                                                                                  
                         (34-LS0710\G)                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     After  the September  11, 2001  attacks on  our nation,                                                                    
     the United  States launched Operation  Enduring Freedom                                                                    
     (OEF) on  October 7, 2001.  The primary purpose  of the                                                                    
     mission was to address  the issue of Al-Qaeda influence                                                                    
     in Afghanistan. During  OEF, Afghani nationals assisted                                                                    
     our US  servicemembers as translators  and interpreters                                                                    
     throughout  their mission.  The acts  of these  Afghani                                                                    
     nationals   provided    necessary   communication   and                                                                    
     understanding of cultural norms.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     In 2006,  the Special Immigrant Visa  (SIV) program was                                                                    
     established  as part  of the  Afghan Allies  Protection                                                                    
     Act  and   was  expanded  in  2008   to  include  Iraqi                                                                    
     nationals  who assisted  in the  same capacity  in Iraq                                                                    
     under  Operation  Iraqi  Freedom  (OIF).  This  program                                                                    
     allowed  those  who  assisted  us  to  apply  and  gain                                                                    
     permanent US residency.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Since   the  botched   evacuation  of   US  forces   in                                                                    
     Afghanistan in  2021, processing and approval  of these                                                                    
     SIV's and  the subsequent  evacuation of  these Afghani                                                                    
     nationals  and  their  families have  been  delayed  or                                                                    
     stalled. HJR  13 aims to  rectify this  by respectfully                                                                    
     urging the President of the  United States to order the                                                                    
     US Secretary  of State to resume,  expand, and expedite                                                                    
     the  processing  of  these  SIV  applications  and  the                                                                    
     evacuations of these individuals and their families.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     These  Afghani  citizens  risked their  lives  and  the                                                                    
     lives of  their families  under Taliban rule  to assist                                                                    
     our service members  during Operation Enduring Freedom,                                                                    
     on the promise that their  service could be repaid with                                                                    
     a chance at  permanent US residency. We  must honor our                                                                    
     promises as  a nation and  do our best to  assist these                                                                    
     allies.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:06:43 PM                                                                                                                    
HENRY THOMPSON,  Staff, Representative  Will Stapp,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided more  details on HJR 13 and                                                               
explained that there  are three related programs:  one created in                                                               
2006  for Iraqi  and  Afghan interpreters,  another  in 2008  for                                                               
Iraqis who assisted the U.S., and  a 2009 program for Afghans. He                                                               
said  the  Afghan program  is  the  largest, with  143,000  visas                                                               
granted  to principals  and their  families,  though only  50,000                                                               
principal visas  were authorized. He noted  significant delays in                                                               
processing and relocating applicants to the United States.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:08:04 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI  asked whether processing  delays vary  by country                                                               
or are specific to the Afghan Allied Protection Act.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:08:30 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP  replied that  he couldn't  confirm specific                                                               
processing  times  but  emphasized that  Special  Immigrant  Visa                                                               
applicants  undergo thorough  State Department  vetting and  must                                                               
prove their service with U.S.  forces. He added that many friends                                                               
are currently  trying to help their  interpreters immigrate under                                                               
the program.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:09:23 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  YUNDT  asked  where communication  or  coordination  had                                                               
broken down in the program, since it worked well previously.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:09:37 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE  STAPP answered  that the  program faltered  after                                                               
the rapid collapse  of the Afghan government.  Unlike Iraq, where                                                               
a  phased  withdrawal  maintained  U.S.  presence,  Afghanistan's                                                               
sudden fall  left little time  to evacuate  eligible individuals.                                                               
He said  bureaucratic processes couldn't adjust  quickly, and the                                                               
Taliban's return  to power further complicated  efforts. However,                                                               
some  Non-Governmental Organizations  (NGOs) continue  working to                                                               
help  evacuate  and  resettle those  individuals  in  the  United                                                               
States.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:10:46 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR YUNDT noted that many  civilians who worked with the U.S.                                                               
destroyed their  documents for safety when  the Afghan government                                                               
collapsed and  asked how those individuals  can immigrate without                                                               
proof of service.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:11:16 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP  replied that some interpreters  sent photos                                                               
before  destroying their  documents and  noted that  many records                                                               
still exist  on the U.S.  side, though  they can be  difficult to                                                               
locate. He agreed  that the loss of documents  hinders efforts to                                                               
expedite evacuations.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:11:59 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI opened  public testimony on HJR  13; finding none,                                                               
he closed public testimony.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:12:16 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI held HJR 13 in committee.