Template 6 – Letter to Secretary of State

Copy and template and paste it into the contact form of your local representative.

Dear Secretary Blinken,

My name is Jane Doe and I write to you as a concerned [citizen/veteran of the United States Insert Branch Here]. I wish to express to you my desires on how our federal government should handle the aftermath of our exit from Afghanistan. As Secretary of State, your power to affect positive change in foreign affairs is extremely broad. I implore you to take appropriate action. 

I am primarily concerned about our Afghan partners and innocent civilians attempting to flee the country and Taliban rule. As you well know, without the assistance of Afghan translators, Afghan workers, and Afghan allies, we never would have been able to stabilize the country as long as we did, as well as we did. Our military relied on the Afghan people. And now, the Afghan people are relying on us. 

The Constitution vests foreign affairs power in one branch: the Executive. In your capacity as Secretary of State, we rely on you to help shape our policies abroad. President Biden made the decision to leave Afghanistan. I do not write to you to express any opinion on whether that was right or wrong. Instead, I write to implore you to take action to rectify what is a true humanitarian tragedy.

Particularly, I call on you to ensure Afghan refugees have safe passage to neighboring countries. Within those countries, our embassies should continue to process SIV, P1, and P2 visas. Where you are able to lift administrative burdens and allocate more resources to process these visas, I ask you to do so. In the end, our Afghan brothers and sisters should not depart their own country only to find themselves in vulnerable, long-term refugee camps. By expediting the visa process, our aim should be to ensure our Afghan partners enjoy the security they fought so hard for in their homeland.

As a [veteran/concerned citizen], I believe strongly in our ideals of liberty and justice for all. In this instance it would be unjust to not share the great fruits of liberty with those who have helped serve our country for twenty years. I trust you will help us meet these ideals and uphold these values. 

Sincerely,

[Signature]

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