Thread by @IRAP

[THREAD] 2 years ago today, @POTUS announced that the U.S. would withdraw its military from #Afghanistan.

He did so fully knowing that at-risk Afghans were stuck in the visa backlog. When the withdrawal was complete, the majority of #AfghanAllies had been left behind.

Last week, the WH released a report acknowledging that evacuations should have begun sooner.

That report confirms what #Afghans and advocates predicted and have long known -- that the U.S. did too little too late to get at-risk Afghans to safety.

For years, processing delays kept #SIV applicants from resettling in the United States. A U.S. court ruled in 2019 that the delays were unreasonable.
refugeerights.org/news-resources…

While the admin started discussing #SIV reforms in early 2021, changes that came out of those discussions only started benefitting applicants once it was too late.

@POTUS chose to withdraw on a timeline that he knew would not be enough to address the backlog.

Issues with the #SIV program have existed since the program was created and the failure to address them falls on multiple administrations.

However, with so many Afghans still at risk from the Taliban, the U.S. responsibility to bring them to safety is more urgent than ever.

We will continue to advocate for the safe relocation of at-risk Afghans, including in court. Follow the latest in IRAP’s lawsuit challenging the extreme delays in #SIV processing:
refugeerights.org/news-resources…