The Enduring Welcome Act of 2025 (EWA) would codify the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) Office for a period of five years and assure congressional reporting and attention is given to addressing the protection needs of Afghan allies in Afghanistan and worldwide.
There has been a complete halt of evacuation flights from Afghanistan since the beginning of the Trump administration in January 2025, and the eliminated of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) office by the new administration as part of its restructuring of the U.S. State Department.
On August 19, 2025, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-California) introduced the Enduring Welcome Act of 2025 with 13 Democrats and five Republican original co-sponsors: Rep. Michael Lawler (R-New York), Dina Titus (D-Nevada), Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Scott Peters (D-California), Ami Bera (D-California), Zachary Nunn (R-Iowa), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Gregory Meeks (D-New York), Henry Johnson (D-Georgia), Greg Stanton (D-Arizona), Del. Eleanor Homes Norton (D-D.C.), Sarah McBride (D-Delaware), Brad Sherman (D-California), William Keating (D-Massachusetts), Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), and Julie Johnson (D-Texas).
What would the Enduring Welcome Act do?
EWA is a national security-focused bill to help the Afghan allies who served alongside the U.S. military for two decades and are waiting overseas for the fulfillment of the United States government’s protection promises. EWA has two primary functions: 1) the establishment and preservation of the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) for five years, and 2) data collection and reporting on the program to congressional committees.
1. Reestablish the CARE office
EWA would reestablish the CARE office for five years and define its roles and responsibilities around the safe resettlement and relocation of Afghan allies. It would codify the CARE office as serving as the lead interagency coordinating office for Afghans who qualify as SIVs, refugees, or parolees, and their families, through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) P1 and P2 categories, and as parolees. The responsibilities of the CARE office would include coordinating vetting and processing of Afghan allies and their families, facilitating their relocation and resettlement, promoting family reunification, assuring the provision of medical care and trauma recovery services by other government agencies, and conducting data collection and reporting.
2. Require information collection and reporting
EWA requires the Coordinator to collect relevant information and the Secretary of State “to establish and maintain a secure, centralized database” of relevant information for reporting. EWA specifies that the database must include information regarding the number of Afghan applications, military and veteran families currently separated, family reunion cases, average processing times, denials and administrative closures, and other information deemed necessary by the Secretary of State or CARE Coordinator. A report is required every 90 days to the House Foreign Affairs committee and the Senate Foreign Relations committee.