HJR 13 is a joint resolution expressing the Alaska Legislature’s support for Afghan applicants and families associated with the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program. The resolution recounts the history of the SIV program for Iraqi and Afghan allies, including its expansion after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and states that many approved applicants and their family members remain stranded in Afghanistan or third countries. It urges the President and the U.S. Secretary of State to resume evacuation flights organized by the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, to expand evacuation and resettlement efforts, and to help reunite families with approved SIV applicants.
Impact
The resolution does not change Alaska state law or create state-level programs, funding, or regulatory requirements. Its practical effect is advisory and political: it directs the Alaska Legislature’s message to federal officials, asking the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to speed SIV processing, provide humanitarian and legal protections, and report to Congress on efforts to restart evacuation flights. The bill primarily affects Afghan SIV applicants, their families, and the federal agencies responsible for immigration processing and relocation.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and a generally sympathetic tone toward Afghan allies who assisted the United States. That sentiment is reflected in the resolution’s emphasis on honoring their service, preventing family separation, and avoiding detention or deportation in third countries. The voting history shows unanimous passage in both chambers, with 40-0 in the House and 20-0 in the Senate, indicating no recorded opposition on final passage.
Contention
There is little visible contention in the available record, and no committee transcript excerpts are provided. The resolution’s subject matter could implicate broader debates over immigration policy, refugee admissions, national security screening, and the pace of federal evacuation efforts, but those disagreements are not reflected in the votes or text here. The only notable policy tension is between the urgency of evacuating approved SIV applicants and the logistical, diplomatic, and processing barriers the resolution says have delayed reunification.
Honoring the brave men and women who participated in the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021 following the United States withdrawal, for their extraordinary efforts and exceptional service in the safe evacuation of over 17,000 people from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and for other purposes.