An executive order signed by President Trump on Monday suspending refugee admissions to the United States puts thousands of Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan during the war at risk, a California official says. said the representative of the based resettlement organization.
The order will affect not only the large numbers of Afghans hiding from the Taliban’s oppressive rule, but also the families of active-duty U.S. soldiers, said a coalition of more than 250 organizations that assist with resettlement. said Sean Vandiver, president of Afghanistan Evac. Afghans who worked with the US before the US withdrawal in 2021.
Vandiver said in an email that the order represents “another broken promise” by the United States. He added that it “risks abandoning thousands of Afghan wartime allies who have stood alongside U.S. service members during 20 years of conflict.”
Trump’s order:Restructuring the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program‘ is scheduled to come into effect next Monday. It did not say when the moratorium would end, saying it would continue “until such time as further admission of refugees into the United States is consistent with the interests of the United States.”
The refugee program has historically been a point of pride for the United States and reflects our ambition to be seen as a leader in human rights. The president typically makes decisions each year about how many refugees to admit that year.
The Washington-based newspaper said that after the Taliban took power and U.S. troops withdrew chaotically from Afghanistan, the Biden administration launched “Operation Welcome Allies” and 76,000 displaced Afghans were He was allowed to enter the United States on humanitarian grounds. Migration Policy Research Institute.
As of 2023, or more 90,000 Afghans They had settled in the United States, according to statistics cited by Mustafa Babak, advocacy and resettlement specialist at Emerson Collective. But U.S. refugee officials had been preparing to scrap the program since Trump won the November election.
During his first term as president, Trump signed an executive order banning entry of citizens of six Muslim-majority countries. He reduced the United States’ annual refugee cap. In 2020, the last full year of his term, the United States accepted about 11,000 refugees, the lowest number on record. The move left thousands of refugees stranded in camps in Kenya, Tanzania and Jordan.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. reinstated the program after taking office in 2021. Approximately 100,000 refugees arrived in the United States in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2024, the most in nearly 30 years, records show.
After Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 election, a conservative policy blueprint called Project 2025 cited immigration crossings at the southern border during the Biden administration as a justification for halting refugee resettlement. It was suggested that a record number of
The refugee admissions suspension was one of a raft of executive orders signed by Trump within hours of taking the oath of office on Monday. Other orders crack down on illegal immigration, ending a U.S. program that allows immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua to enter the U.S. for up to two years if they have financial sponsors and pass security checks. Ta.
The Refugee Order states, “Over the past four years, record levels of immigration have flooded into the United States, including through the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), from Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Ohio to White, Wisconsin. Across the water, cities and small towns alike are seeing large influxes of immigrants, even in large urban centers like New York City, Chicago, and Denver to manage the burden of new arrivals. We are seeking federal assistance.”
However, Vandiver said that as a result of the investigation, strong support There was support among the American public for the continued relocation and resettlement of Afghan allies.
He said people screened under the U.S. refugee admissions program “receive government or U.S.-run nonprofit referrals and undergo extensive service verification, background checks, medical exams, and rigorous security screenings.” He said he was entering the country only after
He said Trump’s executive action would jeopardize thousands of Afghan refugees by freezing all lawsuits and preventing Afghans from boarding flights to the United States. he said something else presidential order From Trump – About Protecting the Country Protection from “foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats” —There were provisions that could further impact Afghan nationals seeking refuge in the United States.
Vandiver said his coalition, which works to secure special visas for Afghans who supported the U.S. mission, sent a letter signed by more than 700 people, including veterans and civilians who served in Afghanistan, saying, We have asked the administration to provide visa waivers to our allies.” This pause. ”
Regarding the Pentagon, Vandiver said those who could be barred include “families of active-duty Department of Defense members who train, fight, and are killed with the U.S. military, as well as affiliated forces.”
“Failure to protect our allies in Afghanistan sends a dangerous message to the world that America’s commitments are conditional and temporary.” “This decision undermines global confidence in our nation’s leadership and jeopardizes our future alliances.”
