In August of 2021, the United States officially withdrew from Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the country. Tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans and Afghan allies who aided the US mission awaited evacuation. In FY 2022, more than 76,000 were evacuated to the United States using humanitarian parole, a temporary form of protection typically only granted for 1 or 2 years to provide safety for people under threat. Given the temporary nature of parole, tens of thousands of the relocated Afghan men, women, and children resettled in the U.S. have been navigating complex legal issues to find lasting protection.

Voice for Refuge completed a comprehensive research process to score and rank every acting Senator and Representative, evaluating actions prior to August 2021 as well as public statements and actions taken in the subsequent months through June 2022. These scores and ranks evaluate each Member on their actions relative to actions taken by other colleagues. Members were scored on a 20 through -15 scale and assigned one of the five potential rankings of Champion, Supporter, Ambivalent, Anti-Resettlement, or Extremely Anti-Resettlement based on their score. 

Our hope is that these scores and ranks will serve first, to show elected officials how they measure up on their support for vulnerable and displaced Afghans and offer an opportunity for our national leaders to increase their involvement and raise their score. And second, to educate constituents who care about at-risk Afghans and our Afghan allies, ensuring that they are aware of how their U.S. Senators and Representatives actually took action, outside of the noise of the media. 

Finally, it is our hope that Afghans already relocated to the United States can find long term safety, and that those who were left behind can rejoin their families and communities safely in the United States. While these scores are a reflection of each representatives’ past actions, they will be considered flexible, and when Members step up to lead efforts to protect Afghans, their scores and ranks will be re-evaluated to reflect their actions. 

Learn more about our Scorecard Methodology.