CNN
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President Donald Trump’s executive order to suspend the US refugee program could leave in limbo at least 2,000 Afghans who had already been approved for resettlement in the United States, a leading human rights organization warns Afghan.
“These people have been waiting long enough,” Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations that has been working to bring Afghan allies to safety since the war ended in 2021, told CNN. are in hiding, they are in limbo and President Trump campaigned on Afghanistan. … He started to end the war in Afghanistan and now he must end it. And that means keeping all of our allies safe.
The group of people immediately affected includes the families of about 200 U.S. military personnel, as well as the families of people who have already moved to the United States, VanDiver said.
Flights of those affected in the short term have not yet been canceled, he added, because the government must implement the order.
The executive order, titled “Realignment of the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” states that admitting refugees under the program “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The program is suspended as of January 27 for at least 90 days, or more.
The order states that after 90 days, the secretaries of State and Homeland Security will submit a report to Trump on whether or not the program “would be in the best interests of the United States.” A report will then be submitted every 90 days until Trump determines it is.
“The United States does not have the capacity to absorb large numbers of migrants, and particularly refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources to Americans, that protects their safety and their safety and which guarantees appropriate assimilation. refugees,” the order states. “This order suspends USRAP until further entry of refugees into the United States is consistent with United States interests.”
Republicans have been extremely critical of former President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the impact it had on service members, veterans and Afghans who served alongside the US military — including Trump’s own national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who said the administration had “abandoned” Afghan allies.
In 2023, Waltz criticized Biden for “the thousands of allies we have abandoned and made broken promises to keep them safe in order to get the accountability they deserve.”
Since the end of the war in Afghanistan in August 2021, more than 180,000 Afghans have resettled in the United States. An open letter from #AfghanEvac to the new Trump administration and congressional leaders, which urged continued resettlement of Afghan allies in the United States, received more than 700 signatures, including more than 400 veterans, according to the organization.
#AfghanEvac was recognized by the State Department led by former Secretary of State Antony Blinken. VanDiver stressed Tuesday that the organization is ready and willing to work with the incoming Trump administration.
But even if the refugee program were suspended only for the first 90 days, VanDiver told CNN, it would impact about 2,000 people — including U.S. military families — who have already passed the U.S. screening process. and are actively ready to travel. .
If the pause is indefinite, VanDiver said, it could affect tens of thousands more people.
“When you’re hiding and you’re terrified, every day seems like an eternity,” VanDiver said. “Years lead to a loss of confidence. We are creating national security problems for ourselves by preventing these people to whom we made a promise from enjoying that promise.”
