The Unfinished Mission: Afghan SIV Partners, U.S. Veterans, and the Legacy of War
Throughout the war in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans served alongside U.S. troops as interpreters, a vital role that kept the mission moving. The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program was meant to offer them safety in the U.S., yet many remain trapped in legal limbo, facing ongoing threats.
Since 2009, the State Department has issued about 117,000 Afghan SIVs. But when Kabul fell on August 15, 2021, 81,000 applicants were still waiting. At least 78,000 were left behind when the last U.S. military plane departed. Eligible SIV applicants have faced numerous obstacles, often relying on humanitarian parole while being stranded abroad due to bureaucratic delays and slow processing. Under the Trump administration, the SIV program has been effectively frozen, leaving approximately 40,000 Afghans in limbo.
Join us for the inaugural panel of the Quincy Institute’s Veterans in Foreign Policy Initiative, which highlights issues important to veterans and their role in shaping foreign policy debates. The panel will feature Shawn VanDiver, founder of #AfghanEvac; Rahmat Mokhtar, a former interpreter for U.S. Marines in Afghanistan; and Jessica Bradley Rushing, former acting and deputy director for Engagement and Analysis at the State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) in the Bureau for South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA). The discussion will be moderated by Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East Program and director of the Veterans in Foreign Policy Initiative at the Quincy Institute.
The conversation will take place on Tuesday, March 18th from 12:00 – 1:00 PM Eastern Time.
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Panelists
Shawn VanDiver
Shawn VanDiver is the founder of #AfghanEvac and Principal at Gaslamp Consulting where he works with government leaders to identify innovative solutions to long-term civic challenges. A vocal proponent of civic engagement at all levels, Shawn serves as Chair of the San Diego Convention Center and Shawn attended National University, the Naval Postgraduate School, and University of San Francisco and holds degrees and certifications related to homeland security, cybersecurity, emergency management, and public leadership. Shawn is a Navy veteran.
Rahmat Mokhtar
Rahmat Mokhtar served as an interpreter from 2011 to 2014, including for U.S. Marines in Helmand Province during the peak of the U.S. surge in Afghanistan. He left Afghanistan in 2016 on a Special Immigrant Visa and now works as a senior finance coordinator for the International Rescue Committee’s Center for Economic Opportunity.
Jessica Bradley Rushing
Jessica served as the acting director and deputy director for Communications & Engagement in the Office of Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) in the State Department’s South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau (SCA). She previously worked as a veterans caseworker and district representative in the Office of Congressman Bill Keating (MA09). From 2021-2023, Jessica served as a Congressional Point of Contact for #AfghanEvac, a coalition of more than 200 organizations working alongside the US government on Afghan relocation and resettlement operations. She is an Army veteran.
Adam Weinstein
Adam Weinstein is deputy director of the Middle East Program at the Quincy Institute. He previously worked for KPMG’s international trade practice. Adam’s current research focuses on security, trade, and rule of law in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East. He has conducted extensive research travel in Pakistan, Iraq, and the greater Middle East. He is also a non-resident fellow at Tabadlab, an Islamabad based think tank and advisory firm. Adam served as a U.S. Marine and deployed to Uruzgan Province Afghanistan in 2012.