In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman warns that tens of thousands of Afghans evacuated to the United States after the fall of Kabul could face deportation without congressional action.
Ackerman examines the Afghan Adjustment Act, humanitarian parole, and the uncertain legal status of Afghan allies who fled the Taliban after working alongside the United States.
Afghan Allies and American Obligation
The essay argues that the United States has a moral and strategic responsibility to protect Afghan partners who risked their lives during America’s war in Afghanistan.
The Afghan Adjustment Act
Ackerman explains how humanitarian parole provided temporary entry but no secure long-term path, leaving evacuated Afghans dependent on Congress to adjust their status.
A Crisis of Political Memory
At its center, the piece warns that America’s tendency to forget Afghanistan could produce a second evacuation crisis, this time in reverse, if Afghan allies are sent back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.