U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) recently led congressional calls for support of a special immigration review process for Iraqis who served alongside U.S. service members overseas.
Tillis and Kinzinger called on Secretary of Defense James Mattis and President Donald Trump, respectively, to exempt Iraqi interpreters, aides and other allies to U.S. forces from an executive order temporarily suspending immigration from seven countries, including Iraq.
“Given (Mattis’) strong support for programs that offer refuge to vetted Iraqis and Afghans whose lives are in danger because of the critical assistance they provide to our soldiers and diplomats, we want to raise one specific example of the danger the executive order poses to our national security,” Tillis and bipartisan members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said. “Over the weekend, two Iraqis who supported the U.S. armed forces and who, after years of vetting, received special immigrant visas to enter the U.S. were detained at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport after the executive order was put into place.”
The lawmakers called the situation unacceptable, adding, “We fear the United states will pay significant moral and strategic costs if it continues, particularly in terms of our ability to obtain necessary local support for U.S. military missions abroad.”
The letter noted Mattis’ support of the special immigrant visa program during his confirmation hearings earlier this month, and acknowledged that much of the responsibility for implementing the executive order falls outside of his official duties.
Kinzinger and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), both veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, urged the president to honor a request made by Mattis to exempt Iraqis who served alongside the military from the executive order.
“We urge the president to honor Secretary Mattis’ requests, and stand up for those who stood by our military and American personnel,” Kinzinger and Hunter said in a joint statement. “For the safety of these courageous individuals and their families, and in the interest of our national security, it’s critical that we make this exception and do so swiftly.”
Kinzinger and Hunter wrote that Iraqi allies risked their lives to advance America’s security interest in a region where their skills and willingness to confront extremism have been invaluable.
“We respectfully ask that (Trump) take this action to ensure these individuals are not put in any further danger. Doing so would send a strong signal to those who show such immense courage to advance U.S. security interests at a risk to their own safety, as well as the many veterans and warfighters who’ve relied on the service of these individuals for their own protection and to accomplish their objectives,” the lawmakers wrote.