Rep. Greg Stanton urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to personally ensure members of the Afghan National Army’s Female Tactical Platoon have their asylum cases promptly adjudicated through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Their temporary humanitarian parole expires in August 2023.
Only three of nearly 50 FTPs have thus far been granted asylum. Stanton raised concerns that these soldiers are receiving disparate treatment because of their gender.
“I am concerned that this group of courageous women is receiving disparate treatment from your Department,” Stanton wrote to the Secretary. “After all, many male Afghan soldiers, including pilots, have received their asylum within the 180-day time period. The FTPs also worked alongside U.S. soldiers, were fully vetted throughout their service, and completed their asylum claims in a timely fashion. The only significant distinction is their gender—the very thing that makes their asylum claims all the more vital.”
The Female Tactical Platoon are Afghan soldiers who were recruited, rigorously vetted, and trained by elite U.S special forces to work where male soldiers could not in a Muslim-majority country. A handful of the nearly 50 FTPs have resettled in Arizona. After Kabul fell to the Taliban, the FTPs were evacuated to the United States by our nation’s military, and admitted under a two-year humanitarian parole that is set to expire in August 2023.
Full text of the letter is available HERE.