CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Joint Resolution No. 21Introduced by Assembly Members Quirk and LeeSeptember 07, 2021 Relative to Afghanistan. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAJR 21, as introduced, Quirk. United States citizens and Afghan allies.This measure would encourage the expedited transfer of United States citizens and Afghan allies who have left Afghanistan to welcoming states like California in order to protect their safety and the safety of their families.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, On August 24, 1973, King Mohammad Zahir Shah abdicated the throne after 40 years of a peaceful monarch rule in Afghanistan due to a coup dtat by his cousin, Mohammed Daoud Khan; andWHEREAS, On April 28, 1978, Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan was assassinated during the Saur Revolution led by the communist Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which propelled Afghanistan into decades of conflict; andWHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan supported the mujahedeens fight against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which led Islamic militants like Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden to become involved in Afghanistans conflict; andWHEREAS, On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered four coordinated attacks, conducted by 19 members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda under the direction of Osama bin Laden, precipitating a United States and coalition military invasion and occupation of Afghanistan that would last nearly 20 years; andWHEREAS, The United States and coalition missions in Afghanistan were overseen by four presidential administrations and multiple shifts in the majority party of both chambers of Congress before the final withdrawal of United States and coalition military forces, making the Afghanistan conflict and its aftermath the responsibility of our total political system; andWHEREAS, The Taliban, a hardline Islamist force lacking regard for civil and human rights, will achieve a swift, full, and violent restoration of its control over the institutions and people of Afghanistan upon the withdrawal of the United States and the coalition; andWHEREAS, Thousands of Afghan citizens supported United States and allied forces, standing side-by-side with the United States service members, diplomats, and aid workers while serving as interpreters, engineers, logistical service providers, and more; andWHEREAS, Afghan citizens who supported United States and allied forces, along with their families, have been targeted for execution by the Taliban for their support of the United States and coalition missions; andWHEREAS, More than 300 Afghan interpreters are known to have been murdered by the Taliban for supporting United States and allied forces; andWHEREAS, The United States began withdrawing its military forces from Afghanistan on May 1, 2021, and completed its military withdrawal by September 2021; andWHEREAS, The Taliban has regained significant territory in Afghanistan since the beginning of the United States withdrawal; andWHEREAS, The United States has conducted battlefield vetting of those Afghans who supported the United States and coalition missions, and has an established Special Immigrant Visa program to support the evacuation and relocation of our Afghan partners; andWHEREAS, Sixteen thousand visas under the Special Immigrant Visa program have been issued since the program began, and more than 18,000 applications to the Special Immigrant Visa program remain pending; andWHEREAS, Failing to protect the United States Afghan partners would leave thousands of individuals and their families in peril; andWHEREAS, The State of California stands ready to support the evacuation, case management screening, and resettlement of Afghan refugees traveling with a Special Immigrant Visa, and to coordinate that response with county, state, and federal government departments and agencies in accordance with previously established and proven best practices for emergency resettlement; andWHEREAS, Local agencies in the bay area have established a model of emergency refugee, asylum, and migrant care and resettlement services, and that model can be tailored for specific language and cultural competency; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California encourages the expedited transfer of United States citizens and Afghan allies who have left Afghanistan to welcoming states like California in order to protect their safety and the safety of their families; and be it furtherResolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Joint Resolution No. 21Introduced by Assembly Members Quirk and LeeSeptember 07, 2021 Relative to Afghanistan. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAJR 21, as introduced, Quirk. United States citizens and Afghan allies.This measure would encourage the expedited transfer of United States citizens and Afghan allies who have left Afghanistan to welcoming states like California in order to protect their safety and the safety of their families.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 21
Introduced by Assembly Members Quirk and LeeSeptember 07, 2021
Introduced by Assembly Members Quirk and Lee
September 07, 2021
Relative to Afghanistan.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 21, as introduced, Quirk. United States citizens and Afghan allies.
This measure would encourage the expedited transfer of United States citizens and Afghan allies who have left Afghanistan to welcoming states like California in order to protect their safety and the safety of their families.
This measure would encourage the expedited transfer of United States citizens and Afghan allies who have left Afghanistan to welcoming states like California in order to protect their safety and the safety of their families.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
WHEREAS, On August 24, 1973, King Mohammad Zahir Shah abdicated the throne after 40 years of a peaceful monarch rule in Afghanistan due to a coup dtat by his cousin, Mohammed Daoud Khan; and
WHEREAS, On April 28, 1978, Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan was assassinated during the Saur Revolution led by the communist Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which propelled Afghanistan into decades of conflict; and
WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan supported the mujahedeens fight against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which led Islamic militants like Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden to become involved in Afghanistans conflict; and
WHEREAS, On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered four coordinated attacks, conducted by 19 members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda under the direction of Osama bin Laden, precipitating a United States and coalition military invasion and occupation of Afghanistan that would last nearly 20 years; and
WHEREAS, The United States and coalition missions in Afghanistan were overseen by four presidential administrations and multiple shifts in the majority party of both chambers of Congress before the final withdrawal of United States and coalition military forces, making the Afghanistan conflict and its aftermath the responsibility of our total political system; and
WHEREAS, The Taliban, a hardline Islamist force lacking regard for civil and human rights, will achieve a swift, full, and violent restoration of its control over the institutions and people of Afghanistan upon the withdrawal of the United States and the coalition; and
WHEREAS, Thousands of Afghan citizens supported United States and allied forces, standing side-by-side with the United States service members, diplomats, and aid workers while serving as interpreters, engineers, logistical service providers, and more; and
WHEREAS, Afghan citizens who supported United States and allied forces, along with their families, have been targeted for execution by the Taliban for their support of the United States and coalition missions; and
WHEREAS, More than 300 Afghan interpreters are known to have been murdered by the Taliban for supporting United States and allied forces; and
WHEREAS, The United States began withdrawing its military forces from Afghanistan on May 1, 2021, and completed its military withdrawal by September 2021; and
WHEREAS, The Taliban has regained significant territory in Afghanistan since the beginning of the United States withdrawal; and
WHEREAS, The United States has conducted battlefield vetting of those Afghans who supported the United States and coalition missions, and has an established Special Immigrant Visa program to support the evacuation and relocation of our Afghan partners; and
WHEREAS, Sixteen thousand visas under the Special Immigrant Visa program have been issued since the program began, and more than 18,000 applications to the Special Immigrant Visa program remain pending; and
WHEREAS, Failing to protect the United States Afghan partners would leave thousands of individuals and their families in peril; and
WHEREAS, The State of California stands ready to support the evacuation, case management screening, and resettlement of Afghan refugees traveling with a Special Immigrant Visa, and to coordinate that response with county, state, and federal government departments and agencies in accordance with previously established and proven best practices for emergency resettlement; and
WHEREAS, Local agencies in the bay area have established a model of emergency refugee, asylum, and migrant care and resettlement services, and that model can be tailored for specific language and cultural competency; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California encourages the expedited transfer of United States citizens and Afghan allies who have left Afghanistan to welcoming states like California in order to protect their safety and the safety of their families; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.