Lawyer says Trump’s suspension of refugee admissions puts Afghans in danger

The executive order signed by President Trump on Monday suspending refugee admissions into the United States puts at risk thousands of Afghan citizens who helped the American mission during the war there, the head of a California-based resettlement group said.

It will not only affect dozens of Afghans now hiding from oppressive Taliban rule, but also family members of serving U.S. troops, said Sean Vandiver, president of Afghan EVAC, a coalition of more than 250 organizations helping with resettlement. Afghans who worked with the Americans before the US withdrawal in 2021.

Mr. Vandiver said by email that it amounted to “another broken promise” by the United States. He added that this “risks abandoning thousands of Afghan wartime allies who have stood by members of the US armed forces during two decades of conflict.”

Mr. Trump’s order is titled “Reorganization of the United States Refugee Admissions ProgramIt is scheduled to take effect next Monday. He did not specify when the suspension would end, saying it would continue “until such time as the entry of more refugees into the United States is consistent with the interests of the United States.”

Refugee programs have historically been a source of pride in the United States, reflecting its ambition to be seen as a leader in human rights. The president usually makes an annual decision on how many refugees will be allowed into the country in any given year.

After the US military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban seized power, the Biden administration launched Operation Welcome Allies, allowing 76,000 Afghan evacuees to enter the United States on humanitarian grounds, according to the Washington-based organization. Migration Policy Institute.

As of 2023, more than 90 thousand Afghans They settled in the United States, according to statistics cited by Mustafa Babak, an Emerson Group fellow and expert in advocacy and resettlement. But US refugee agencies have been preparing to cancel the admissions program since Trump won the November election.

During his first term as president, Trump signed an executive order barring people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the country. He reduced the annual refugee cap in the United States. The United States recognized him in 2020, the last full year of his term Record low The number of refugees is about 11 thousand. This move left thousands of refugees stranded in camps in Kenya, Tanzania and Jordan.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. revived the program after becoming president in 2021. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2024, about 100,000 refugees arrived in the United States, the most in nearly three decades, records show.

After Mr. Trump announced his candidacy in 2024, a conservative political strategist called Project 2025 suggested that he would cite the record number of migrant crossings at the southern border during the Biden administration as justification for halting refugee resettlement.

The suspension of refugee admissions was one of a storm of executive orders signed by Mr. Trump within hours of being sworn in on Monday. Other orders cracked down on illegal immigration and ended a US program that allowed immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua to enter the United States for up to two years if they had a financial sponsor and passed security checks.

The refugee order states: “Over the past four years, the United States has been inundated with record levels of immigration, including through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Cities and small towns alike, from Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to Springfield, have seen , Ohio, to Whitewater, Wisconsin, large influxes of immigrants and even major urban centers such as New York City, Chicago, and Denver requested federal assistance to manage the burden of new arrivals.

But Mr. Vandiver said surveys showed that Strong support Among the American public to continue the relocation and resettlement of Afghan allies.

He noted that people screened under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program entered the country “only after receiving a referral from a government-run or U.S.-run nonprofit organization and after undergoing comprehensive service verification, background checks, medical screening, and stringent security vetting.”

He said Trump’s executive action now would plunge thousands of Afghan refugees into limbo by freezing all their standing cases and barring Afghans from boarding flights to the United States. Another said Executive order By Mr. Trump – about protecting the country From “foreign terrorists and other threats to national security and public safety” – Includes provisions that could further impact Afghan citizens seeking asylum in the United States.

Van Diver said his coalition, which is working to secure special visas for Afghans who assisted the US mission, sent a letter signed by more than 700 people, including veterans and civilians who worked in Afghanistan, “urging the administration to exempt Afghan allies from visas.” This pause.”

Among those who could be excluded are “family members of active duty members of the Department of Defense and partner forces who trained, fought and died alongside U.S. forces,” Van Diver said, referring to the Department of Defense.

He added: “The failure to protect our Afghan allies sends a dangerous message to the world that US commitments are conditional and temporary.” He added, “This decision undermines global confidence in our leadership and puts our future alliances at risk.”