While the Trump administration swiftly moves to enact more stringent border policy, Afghan nationals at the center of efforts to evacuate those who aided the United States stand to be impacted, organizations warn.
The State Department notified some organizations that refugee travel, case processing and pre-departure activity is being suspended, according to an apparent email sent to partners following President Trump’s executive order on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. A State Department official confirmed that the agency was working with partners to suspend arrivals and processing in accordance with the executive order.
The order suspends the refugee admissions program for at least three months with exemptions only on a case-by-case basis and was due to take effect on January 27th.
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The organization, #AfghanEvac, estimates there at least 40,000 Afghans in the "refugee pipeline," with at least 10,000 already vetted, and at least 200 U.S. military families waiting for reunification. The coalition, formed in the aftermath of the U.S.’ withdrawal from Afghanistan to aid allies as the Taliban took control, has been urging the administration to offer more protection.
“Our advice went unheeded, and now there are the families of U.S. service members, our partner forces, all these folks who stood up for the idea of America, and we told them we had their back, and today they're being pulled off flights. Today, they're finding out that their cases are frozen. Today, [the] State Department, five days early, decided to enact this executive order, which means their American dreams are dashed,” said Shawn VanDiver, the president of the coalition.
A U.S. service member who said they previously aided forces as an interpreter told Scripps News their sister was in the final stages of the refugee process, having been vetted and waiting for a flight, but now has heard nothing as they await more direction on next steps.
“They just indiscriminately treated all of us without even caring or making an exception to policy for us at all,” the service member said, adding “I was awake until like 2 a.m. last night sending emails and talking to people. I’ve done everything I can so far and it hasn’t worked.”
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Another refugee resettlement agency told Scripps News that among refugees they have learned about with canceled flights are a group of Afghan minors who were scheduled to travel to reunite with their family after they were separated during the evacuation. In total, they have seen more than 1,000 people, including other nationalities and countries besides Afghanistan, with canceled flights.
The administration’s suspension of the refugee admissions program is among a number of actions Trump quickly enacted after campaign promises of tougher border measures. Trump also declared a national emergency at the southern border, directed more military personnel and directed re-establishing a baseline for screening and vetting standards.
“What the president is trying to do right now is a reset, and I don't second-guess his decisions on that. He's using his executive authority because desperate times call for desperate measures. Now our role as an Article One branch of the government is to look through legislatively which of these things will we codify, what do we need to address? Obviously the wide open border has created an indescribable human catastrophe for us that we will be dealing with for decades. The president is very serious about addressing that and guess what? So are the American people,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters when pressed on recent immigration measures.
“The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees,” the order on refugees stated.
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“From a humanitarian standpoint you have people who are now stranded,” said Timothy Young, a spokesperson for Global Refuge, a resettlement nonprofit.
“It’s going to have major implications. You have persecuted families who have fled for their lives who have gone through years of intensive vetting and cleared every hurdle and are now going to languish indefinitely in this state of limbo,” said Young.
#AfghanEvac is urging the administration to exempt Afghans connected to the United States mission. More than 800 people have now signed on to a letter organized by #AfghanEvac ahead of the order, which calls for protecting pathways through the refugee admissions program, shielding those in the United States waiting for permanent status from "broad immigration enforcement," and adding 50,000 more Special Immigrant Visas.
The guidance shared by the State Department suspending travel and processing does not apply to SIV holders, according to the apparent email.
“The SIV program is not very well-constructed. It's very narrow and you know, there's you have to have time constraints, and you have to know your old boss and still be in touch them. Sometimes it's 20 years ago, like it's really hard,” VanDiver said.
The previous administration issued more than 78,000 special immigrant visas for Afghan allies and resettled more than 185,000 Afghans following the withdrawal it oversaw, after Trump struck a deal with the Taliban in his first administration. Respective officials have long traded blame for the chaotic, deadly scenes that followed.
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“Imagine, if you're an Afghan American serving the United States military and you have to go to work on Monday and tell your chain of command that your mom was killed because the Taliban tracked her down and slit her throat. That's the kind of things that are already happening, and we had this mechanism to make sure that these folks would come out. But on Monday, Donald Trump wiped it all away with the, with the stroke of the pen,” VanDiver said.
But the coalition is hopeful, noting Trump’s campaign message in part centered around criticizing Biden’s handling of the U.S.’ withdrawal.
“What we know was that Donald Trump values loyalty, and he also loves to make a deal. So what we're hopeful is that President Trump and his team are willing to come to the table with #AfghanEvac and make a deal about these folks who are incredibly loyal to us and to whom we owe a great debt,” said VanDiver.
