RASC News Agency: The future of the United States’ Afghanistani refugee resettlement initiative hangs in the balance, as the administration of President Donald J. Trump has yet to announce a final decision regarding the continuation or termination of the program. This indecision has sparked growing alarm among advocacy groups and humanitarian organizations facilitating the relocation of vulnerable Afghanistani nationals from countries such as Pakistan, Qatar, and the Philippines. In a statement to Fox News on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State confirmed that the administration is “undertaking a thorough review of the Afghanistani Relocation Program and the Office of the Coordinator for Afghanistani Relocation.” The spokesperson added that, to date, “no final determination has been made.”
“The United States remains committed to supporting Afghanistani individuals who have been transferred to third countries and whose immigration cases are currently under review,” the spokesperson said. Since the beginning of President Trump’s new term in office, the resettlement program designed to assist former U.S. government employees and at-risk Afghanistani partners has been placed under temporary suspension pending policy reassessment. President Trump has called for a comprehensive re-evaluation of the program in consultation with the Department of State and other relevant agencies before deciding whether to reinstate or discontinue it.
Afghanistani Evac, one of the leading advocacy groups supporting Afghanistani refugees, had earlier warned that the administration may be preparing to shut down the State Department’s Office of the Afghanistani Relocation Coordinator entirely. A leaked draft of the proposed State Department budget, obtained by Fox News, appears to confirm those concerns. The document reportedly outlines plans to eliminate new funding for temporary housing and support for Afghanistani refugees currently residing in Pakistan, Qatar, and the Philippines individuals awaiting U.S. entry. The White House Office of Management and Budget has also proposed the complete termination of the program by the end of fiscal year 2025.
Sean Van Diver, president of Afghanistani Evac, warned in an interview with Fox News that closing the program could severely damage the United States’ international credibility. “President Trump must demonstrate to American service members who served in Afghanistan that the nation stands by its commitments,” he said. “Abandoning our allies in their hour of need would send a devastating message to the world.” Van Diver noted that roughly 10,000 Afghanistani nationals remain stranded in Pakistan, caught in a state of prolonged uncertainty as they await transfer to the United States.
Concerns over the program have intensified following the arrests of two Afghanistani evacuees both of whom previously worked with the U.S. government on charges of suspected links to ISIS. These incidents have prompted the Trump administration to adopt a more rigorous and selective approach to security vetting, raising fears that even genuine asylum seekers may now face heightened scrutiny or rejection. In parallel, several refugee rights organizations many of them led by U.S. military veterans and former humanitarian workers with direct experience in Afghanistan have launched renewed efforts to persuade the administration not to abandon at-risk Afghanistani nationals. They argue that forced repatriations could place lives in immediate jeopardy.
Andrew Sullivan, director of one such organization, shared harrowing accounts in a recent interview. “In Albania, I met a man who had been paralyzed after being shot twice by the Taliban. I also encountered a survivor who had been brutally tortured his hands and feet bound for more than a week until village elders secured his release.” Despite the growing number of such cases, the Trump administration has reportedly begun issuing removal notices to some Afghanistani humanitarian visa holders already residing in the United States, instructing them to prepare to leave the country. The move has drawn sharp criticism from international human rights observers.
As Washington remains gridlocked over the program’s fate, tens of thousands of displaced Afghanistani nationals continue to face an uncertain future trapped in bureaucratic limbo, and at the mercy of a political process that has yet to offer them clarity, security, or hope.
