Monday Morning Update -- September 22, 2025

Good morning everyone,

After weeks of sharing what felt like one piece of bad news after another, I’m excited to kick off this email with something actually positive!

Enduring Welcome Act Update

Last week, during the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) mark-up of the State Reauthorization bill, Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, successfully added to the bill the Enduring Welcome Act, which had not initially been included in the bill text, as an amendment.

With positive support from both Chairman Brian Mast and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, as well as from SCA Subcommittee Chair Bill Huizenga, the amendment was included in the bill. While the State Reauthorization has not yet passed, having the Enduring Welcome Act included as an amendment is a really positive step in the right direction for getting relocation and resettlement operations restarted. We are incredibly grateful for the hard work and dedication of Rep Kamlager-Dove on this legislation, as well as for the vocal and unanimous support of Reps Mast, Meeks, and Huizenga and the rest of the committee members who voted to include this amendment in the bill. You can watch the full mark-up here.

As a note, we are still seeking a Republican co-sponsor for the Senate version of the Enduring Welcome Act – but we hope and expect to see the same kind of bipartisan support for our Afghan allies in that chamber of Congress as well.

Internet Outages and Oppression of Women & Girls

On a less welcome note, the Taliban continues to further restrict the rights of women, who are already essentially erased from public life, cutting off internet in regions around the country to “prevent immorality”. While internet outages affect everyone and further isolate all Afghans, the impact on women and girls is even more harsh. Since women and girls are currently unable to pursue their education outside of their homes, online schooling is the only available option and the decision by the Taliban to restrict internet access even periodically and regionally is a further injustice. The continued oppression of women in Afghanistan is a tragedy now and for future generations.

Trump Warns Taliban about Bagram Airbase

The United States and Afghanistan also continue to negotiate over U.S. citizens being held hostage by the Taliban. This past week, President Trump went so far as to threaten Afghanistan regarding Bagram Air Base, stating on Truth Social that “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!" He went on to say that the U.S. was talking to Afghanistan about it. The Taliban, however, rejected that idea via their chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid who urged President Trump to adopt a policy of “realism and rationality”.

From our perspective, it is absolutely critical that the United States does not normalize relations with the Taliban or even consider re-establishing consular presence in Afghanistan unless significant progress is made in restoring the rights of women and girls, and our allies being held hostage are allowed to leave.

Direct Action Updates

Battle Buddies, our joint initiative with IAVA which enables U.S. veterans to accompany Afghan allies to immigration appointments and hearings, continues to grow and expand. In the next two weeks we have ten engagements scheduled in a variety of locations across the country.

• If you are a veteran who hasn’t yet signed up to be a Battle Buddy – join and stand in solidarity with our wartime allies as they pursue their immigration journeys.

• If you are an Afghan or an advocate with information about an upcoming appointment or court date, submit your info so we can ensure that any available Battle Buddies in your area can accompany you.

• If you can, please DONATE to help us continue to expand this program so we can be sure none of our wartime allies has to stand alone in court.

What We’re Reading

• The arrest of the ‘Spokane 9’ stained by accusations of political justice – The Spokesman-Review

• White House Insists Stephen Miller Does Not Play With Dolls – The Daily Beast

• Afghan refugees in Pakistan facing deportation amid local crackdown and Australian visa delays – ABC

• Fury of Afghans who helped Britain after personal data leaked 49 times in four years – MSN

• Trump says 'bad things' will happen if Afghanistan does not return Bagram air base – Reuters

While not all the news this week was good, it was a nice change to feel like some positive progress has been made on the Enduring Welcome Act. AfghanEvac will continue to work to push things forward – but we need your help. The cadence of this work is not slowing down, and in fact seems only to increase, and we need to raise funds to ensure we can keep this going for as long as it takes.

This funding is not just about maintaining operations—it's about scaling our response to meet an unprecedented crisis. Your donations will help us continue communication initiatives like this one, increase advocacy efforts, expand Battle Buddies, and improve the tech and tools we use to do this work. If you can help, please donate here. Every dollar helps, and if you can, consider making your donation recurring. We are grateful to everyone who is still supporting this critical effort.