The US Still Owes a Debt to Its Afghan Allies

Amid the US’s 20-year war against the Taliban, Afghans who feared retribution for aiding US troops were promised refuge in America, as long as they met certain conditions. A deal recently struck in Congress issuing 12,000 more visas for these brave allies is a welcome down payment on that obligation. But the US’s responsibility doesn’t end there.

Afghans who worked with the US military go through a lengthy vetting process in order to receive special immigrant visas granting them and specified family members permanent residence in the US. More than 80,000 candidates were in the visa pipeline as of March 1, a quarter of whom had been cleared for final vetting. Before last month’s compromise, the program was set to run out of visas by August.