No One Left Behind

Last week, No One Left Behind’s Executive Director Andrew Sullivan submitted testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS), highlighting the urgent need to address the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in the FY 2027 appropriations bill.

In his testimony, he urges members of the committee to support resuming SIV issuance to fully vetted wartime allies and to increase the Afghan SIV cap to ensure no eligible Afghan wartime ally is left behind in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Through his own experiences serving alongside Afghan allies, Andrew illustrates the importance and sacrifice of local partners in combat zones. He also speaks to how future conflicts will require similar cooperation with reliable local allies, making it crucial to national security to keep the promise to our Afghan allies today.

We thank the committee for considering this testimony and urge Congress to secure our national security partners who are in danger for their service to the United States. As Andrew testified, “keeping these patriotic allies out of the hands of the Taliban … is not only a moral imperative but a necessary strategic action.” This requires resuming SIV issuance and expanding the Afghan SIV program cap.

You can read his full testimony at: https://www.nooneleft.org/sfopstestimony0726

Congress’ work to bring out Afghan allies to safety continues.

Just this week, bipartisan Representatives, led by Rep. Jason Crow, supported extending the Afghan SIV program for two years through an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2027 (NDAA). Representatives, led by Congressman Ami Bera, also supported an amendment to reaffirm U.S. policy of supporting Afghan allies through the SIV and refugee programs.

Though these amendments were not allowed for a vote by the whole House, the work to include the Afghan SIV program in the final legislation is not over. We will continue advocating for the inclusion of Afghan SIV provisions in the final NDAA on a bipartisan basis, ensuring that all fully-vetted Afghan allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. have access to the safety they earned.

For updates on our advocacy efforts, join us at Partners in the Promise: https://www.nooneleft.org/partnersinthepromise

Partners in the Promise | No One Left Behind No One Left Behind is the nation's oldest charitable organization dedicated to evacuating, resettling and advocating for our Afghan and Iraqi allies.

Last week, we were proud to recognize the leadership of outstanding partners like Rep. Crow and Rep. Baumgartner at our annual congressional reception.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), an Afghanistan combat veteran and sponsor of the Afghan Allies Protection Act, Afghan Adjustment Act, and other critical legislation, accepted our Congressional Impact Award for his strategic and relentless championing of America’s Afghan and Iraqi allies. He was joined at the podium by Congressman Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), who served at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and as a counternarcotics advisor in Afghanistan before coming to Congress, and has been a principled and driven partner in these efforts.

Champions like Rep. Crow, Rep. Baumgartner, Senator Amy Klobuchar, as well as Rep. Michael McCaul, who received our Janis Shinwari Lifetime Achievement Award, and their staff act on the moral and national security imperative to keep the promise to our wartime allies every day. That promise may still be unfinished, but we're grateful for these leaders who keep showing up for it and our wartime allies.