WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the following statement on the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan border security and foreign aid package. The package includes language based on Klobuchar’s bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act to allow Afghans who sought refuge in the United States to apply for permanent legal residency after undergoing additional vetting. The package also includes major funding to combat fentanyl trafficking, including funding for inspection equipment at the ports of entry. The Klobuchar-supported FEND Off Fentanyl Act is incorporated to declare the international trafficking of fentanyl as a national emergency and allow the U.S. Department of the Treasury to use special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering.  

“This is a bipartisan step forward to securing our border, standing with Ukraine, keeping our promise to the Afghans who worked alongside our troops, and offering aid to those who need it across the world,” said Klobuchar. “This package will provide important assistance to communities along our borders and stem the flow of fentanyl; ensure critical humanitarian aid is reaching Palestinians; and deliver needed support to U.S. allies across the world. It will also provide more legal certainty to the Afghans who risked their own lives to protect our service members.”

Provisions in the supplemental which are based off of Senator Klobuchar’s Afghan Adjustment Act, would allow Afghan allies to apply for permanent legal residency to provide certainty as they build their lives in the United States after undergoing thorough vetting. Currently, Afghans who were admitted on temporary humanitarian status can only gain permanent legal status through the asylum system or Special Immigrant Visa process (SIV), which face severe backlogs and long processing times. 

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