Press Releases

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to remain flexible on the date of departure for the last American troops in Afghanistan, currently planned for August 31, and to commit to bringing as many at-risk individuals to safety as possible.

“I was pleased to hear you say in your press conference on August 20th that you’re committed to evacuating every American citizen from Afghanistan who wants to leave and will reassess the planned August 31st departure date depending on our progress in that regard,” wrote Connolly in his letter.  "I simply ask that you make the same consideration and allow for flexibility when it comes to bringing at-risk Afghan citizens to safety and allowing our allies to do the same. It may not be possible to rescue every single person who asks for our help, but we shouldn’t let an arbitrary deadline stop us from making our best attempt.”

Full text of the letter is available here and below. 

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden Jr.

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I write to urge you to remain flexible on the date of departure for the last American troops in Afghanistan and commit to bringing as many at-risk individuals to safety as possible. There was no easy answer to ending our involvement in Afghanistan, and I commend you for making the correct, but difficult, decision to withdraw United States forces from the country. The misguided agreement made by the Trump Administration with the Taliban left you with little choice. The last week and a half, however, has shown that there is an overwhelming demand for evacuation flights out of Afghanistan, both from American and Afghan citizens. It is clear that meeting this challenge by August 31st will be increasingly difficult given the current security situation.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) estimates, as of August 15th, there are 88,000 Afghan citizens in various stages of American visa applications, including those seeking a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). I expect that caseload to climb in the coming days as the Taliban consolidates power and becomes increasingly repressive and violent. On August 17th, Department of Defense Spokesman John Kirby said our goal is to ultimately evacuate between 5,000 and 9,000 individuals per day. Since August 14th, we’ve evacuated 13,000 people, an average of more than 2,000 per day. Even if we were able to evacuate 9,000 people per day until the 31st, that does not leave us enough time to bring everyone awaiting evacuation to safety.

Furthermore, our withdrawal will mean the end of evacuation efforts for our international allies who are also working to evacuate their citizens and at-risk Afghans. 6,000 brave men and women of the United States armed forces are currently securing the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), allowing for military, civilian, and charter flights to take off. When the last American military forces withdraw, the Taliban will almost certainly take swift control of HKIA. If their treatment of evacuees waiting in line to access the airport is any indication, this will likely mean an end to evacuation flights. I know that you are working in close coordination with NATO and G7 allies on the withdrawal, and strongly encourage you to coordinate any ultimate withdrawal with our allies.

I understand intense deliberations that went into your decision to withdraw our troops and agree that staying in Afghanistan longer would not have produced a demonstrably different result. I also understand and share your concern for the lives and safety of our troops in Afghanistan and want to bring them all home as soon as possible.

I was pleased to hear you say in your press conference on August 20th that you’re committed to evacuating every American citizen from Afghanistan who wants to leave and will reassess the planned August 31st departure date depending on our progress in that regard.

I simply ask that you make the same consideration and allow for flexibility when it comes to bringing at-risk Afghan citizens to safety and allowing our allies to do the same. It may not be possible to rescue every single person who asks for our help, but we shouldn’t let an arbitrary deadline stop us from making our best attempt.