Veteran Supporters Finally Get Vote on Bill to Help Afghan Allies, But Its Future Remains Bleak

A plan to give Afghans evacuated to the U.S. in 2021 a pathway to getting green cards -- a top priority for many veterans since the messy end of the war in Afghanistan -- was included in an immigration and foreign aid bill the Senate is considering this week.

The inclusion marks the first time the Afghan proposal has been part of a bill guaranteed to get at least a procedural vote on the Senate floor. But veterans' joy at the progress of one of their priorities is muted as the larger bill appears headed toward defeat over partisan disputes on immigration policy.

"I don't love that Afghans are being tied with the border because these are separate issues, and the border's a political hot potato right now," said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and president of the #AfghanEvac coalition, an umbrella organization for hundreds of nongovernmental groups that helped with the evacuation.