Dan Crenshaw Pressed Biden Administration to Accelerate Evacuation of Afghan Allies

It has been revealed that U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R), back in 2021, urged the former Biden Administration to expedite the evacuation and processing of Afghan nationals who assisted U.S. forces during the two-decade mission in Afghanistan.

In a letter sent to former Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Rep. Crenshaw, joined by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D), called for immediate action to strengthen and accelerate the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program.

The letter emphasizes that thousands of Afghan interpreters, engineers, cultural advisers, security personnel, and other civilian partners face heightened danger following the administration's 2021 decision to fully withdraw U.S. troops from the country.

"These Afghan civilians were critical to the United States' mission in Afghanistan and must be included in our evacuation plan," the lawmakers wrote.

Crenshaw and Garcia urged the Homeland Security and the State Department to eliminate bottlenecks in the SIV process and begin promptly reviewing all pending applications. According to the letter, roughly 17,000 Afghan applicants and their families remained in limbo despite having worked directly with U.S. forces.

The lawmakers warned that processing delays "can prove deadly" for individuals already targeted by the Taliban for assisting American missions.

The letter also calls for allowing SIV recipients access to financial resources to help them purchase flights or secure immediate travel out of Afghanistan. The lawmakers noted that traditional refugee and emergency evacuations often rely on government-backed travel loans, writing, "The United States should not risk the security of these civilians for financial reasons."

They concluded by urging the administration not to abandon Afghan partners who "stood with" American troops throughout the conflict.