‘These people had our backs’: US veterans lobby to rescue allies trapped in Afghanistan

The Afghan Adjustment Act would offer permanent resident status to Afghans who fled the Taliban but Congress has not taken action

A group of 12 people sit in camp chairs - chatting, smoking, listening - in the dark. Behind them, the Capitol building in Washington DC is luminescent, bringing into focus the Afghan flag. Well, the version of the flag before the Taliban changed it. It flies above their heads, catching the yellowy light of dusk.

Since Kabul fell to the Taliban in August last year, military veterans and organizations have been lobbying Congress to offer Afghan evacuees long-term visas to stay in the US. Now, with no action taken and thousands coming to the end of their temporary stays, a different route is being taken to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. This bipartisan bill would grant thousands of Afghans permanent status in the US.