House committee hears resolution urging resumption of Special Immigrant Visa evacuations; holds HJR 13

Capitol Room 124 — Representative Will Staff presented House Joint Resolution 13 to the House Special Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs on April 8, urging the president and federal agencies to resume evacuation flights for applicants with approved Special Immigrant Visas and to secure legal protections and humanitarian assistance for those applicants.

Representative Will Staff told the committee the resolution asks the president, the secretary of defense and the State Department to “resume this program, immediately” and to provide a report to Congress on efforts to reinstate evacuation flights for approved SIV applicants. His staff intern Henry Thompson summarized technical elements: the SIV program originated in wartime authorizations and initially provided for up to 50 principal visas, later expanded by statute to allow larger annual caps; recipients must generally have worked for U.S. forces for at least 12 months and provide a letter of recommendation from a U.S. commander.

Invited witness Joe Sabo, founder of Team America Relief and a former U.S. Army infantry officer, told the committee he and volunteers evacuated nearly 500 people in August 2021 and “several thousand” since then through private efforts. Sabo said he receives “desperate pleas for help” and told lawmakers he believes more than 10,000 applicants remain in the SIV pipeline waiting for final action. He urged the committee to support the resolution and to press federal agencies to act.

Committee members discussed Alaska-specific cases. Representative Gray said Alaska currently has 82 Afghan arrivals on three different statuses — refugee, SIV and humanitarian parolee — and asked whether the resolution could be amended to broaden protections for family members and people on related statuses. Representative Will Staff said the resolution’s language is intended to work within existing law but that he was open to considering amendments if members proposed specific wording. Representative Allard cautioned that broadening the language could risk derailing the measure and suggested focusing on principal SIV recipients first.

Representative Hall and Representative Sadler voiced support; Sadler linked the resolution to earlier committee consideration of related veteran recognition and urged honoring allies who assisted U.S. forces. After invited testimony and questioning, the committee announced it would hold HJR 13 in committee.

No committee motion to report the resolution forward was approved; the chair closed the hearing and listed upcoming scheduling changes before adjourning.