In late August, US Rep. Chris Pappas, the openly gay Congressman from New Hampshire, led a group of 64 members of Congress calling on the US to help evacuate LGBTQ Afghans. The call came in a letter by Pappas, cosigned by the others, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the US Refugee Admissions Program “to explicitly include LGBTQ+ Afghans” into the State Department’s Priority 2 (“P-2”) designation.
The aim was to help LGBTQ Afghans get out of the country before the US left by Aug. 31. But the status could still help them with credentials to flee and resettle even now that the oppressive leadership has taken control of their country. (Over the past few days, the Human Rights Campaign and other major advocacy groups have joined the Congress members in their call for the Biden Administration to protect LGBTQ Afghans.)
Wrote Pappas and his cosignees:
“With the Taliban’s takeover of the country, LGBTQ+ Afghans face the prospect of violent death. Sharia law, cemented in Afghanistan’s constitution, prohibits all forms of same-sex activity, and makes same-sex activity punishable by death. Just as it was for ISIS in Iraq, Sharia law is the Taliban’s guiding compass as it establishes its rule over Afghanistan’s government and society. During its campaign in Iraq and Syria, ISIS frequently executed LGBTQ+ individuals by stoning them to death, castrating and hanging them in public squares, and throwing them off buildings.
“Under Taliban rule, LGBTQ+ Afghans will suffer a similar fate. Last month, Taliban judge Gul Rahim promised that once Taliban forces had taken over Afghanistan, they will implement Sharia law and seek to prosecute and execute LGBTQ+ Afghans:
“ ‘For homosexuals, there can only be two punishments: either stoning, or he must stand behind a wall that will fall down on him.’
“The Biden Administration has been a champion of LGBTQ+ rights in the United States and abroad. In a February 2021 Memorandum President Biden stated,
“ ‘[I]t shall be the policy of the United States to pursue an end to violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, and to lead by the power of our example in the cause of advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world.’ …
“We have a moral obligation to uphold our values and utilize every tool at our disposal to protect the LGBTQ+ Afghan community. On August 2, the Department of State announced a “Priority 2 (P-2) designation” granting eligible Afghan nationals and their family members access to the USRAP for Afghans looking to flee Taliban rule but who aren’t eligible for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). The P-2 designation is made at the discretion of the Department of State and is typically used for ‘groups of special concern’ the Department determines ‘as having access to the program by virtue of their circumstances.’ “
Read Congressman Pappas’s complete letter here.
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