Dear Resettlement Directors-
Yesterday PRM hosted a meeting with all national resettlement agencies to discuss a new process to frontload APA assurances. PRM is hoping that this new approach will improve several current issues including providing additional time between travel being scheduled and travel departures, helping local offices have additional context on the cases heading to them for planning purposes and giving Afghans a sense of when they might depart the safe havens.
The plan outlined by PRM is as follows:
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Beginning in the next week or two, USCCB processing staff will no longer be selecting cases from Hummingbird and placing them with affiliates. Instead, PRM will begin batch- assigning cases to Resettlement Agencies while taking into account local capacities.
- In some instances, PRM may directly assign cases to affiliates. Specifically, PRM may assign those joining immediate family US ties in impacted locations (“impacted locations” is defined as areas where the number of parolees with US ties in that location is greater than the combined local affiliate capacity to serve the cases).
- PRM has made the decision that only close relative US ties will be honored in impacted locations, and friend/distant relative US tie cases may be placed elsewhere.
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PRM will expect the assurance timeframe to be treated like a sprint and that all outstanding Hummingbird assurances will be placed with affiliates within a one-week timeframe. Affiliates in non-impacted locations will be expected to assure cases within 48 hours even if it means assuring them without first contacting their US ties. Affiliates in impacted locations will be expected to assure their case placements within seven days, with the additional time to allow affiliates to call US ties to confirm they will provide housing.
- To help facilitate the process for affiliates in impacted locations, PRM has expressed willingness/ability to put together a national call center where government staff can call US ties on behalf of affiliates to confirm housing.
- At the same time, PRM will provide a schedule to IOM that is based on local affiliate capacity and IOM will be expected to spread travel bookings/arrivals evenly across sixteen (16) weeks, up to the PRM working deadline of February 15.
- By assuring cases upfront and scheduling travel over a 16-week period, affiliates will be able to better plan and prepare for their arrivals.
As shared during yesterday’s APA call, there is tremendous pressure to move parolees off bases by December 31, 2021, although the US government has yet to make a decision on the actual deadline. PRM’s current working timeline is to have all parolees off bases by February 15, 2022, although it is possible this date could be moved forward. When USCCB submitted affiliate capacity revisions to PRM last week, we clearly stated that the revised capacities were based on arrivals through March 31, 2022.
As you think through the new plan, it is important to keep in mind that the USCCB network has already resettled 2,740 parolees(excluding pending walk-ins) which equates to almost 25% of our network capacity. The USCCB affiliate network has already assured 4,358 individuals which is just shy of 40% of our network capacity. USCCB affiliates are currently considering an additional 878 individuals (allocated, not assured) which, combined with assured individuals, equates to 47% of USCCB’s capacity. PRM’s new assurances model will require USCCB’s network to assure an additional 6,725 individuals, inclusive of the cases already placed but not assured by affiliates. By frontloading all assurances and scheduling out all concole travel over 16 weeks (which could possibly be readjusted to land somewhere between 9-15 weeks), affiliates will be better positioned to effectively plan for their arrivals.
Given the uncertainty around the timeline in which affiliates are expected to resettle parolees, please reach out to me if you feel that your agency is not able to serve your stated capacity with parolees arriving between the December 31 – February 15 arrivals timeframe. Please clearly state your reduced capacity that will enable you to resettle all arrivals as early as December 31 but possibly through February 15. Please reach out to Colleen Tighe with any capacity adjustments by Thursday, November 4th.
We will provide any additional updates and address questions on this strategy change on our APA weekly call next Wednesday afternoon.
We remain in awe over all you have done to stand up your programs and build capacity to serve a population that amounts to the largest air evacuation in American history. Your efforts have truly been Herculean and we are so grateful for all that you do!
In solidarity,
Colleen Tighe
Associate Director, Processing Operations
