Washington:
Almost 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. authorities to resettle within the U.S., together with members of the family of lively responsibility U.S. navy personnel, are having their flights canceled beneath President Donald Trump’s order suspending U.S. refugee applications, a U.S. official and a number one refugee resettlement advocate stated on Monday.
The group consists of unaccompanied minors awaiting reunification with their households within the U.S. in addition to Afghans susceptible to Taliban retribution as a result of they fought for the previous U.S.-backed Afghan authorities, stated Shawn VanDiver, head of the #AfghanEvac coalition of U.S. veterans and advocacy teams and the U.S. official, who spoke on situation of anonymity.
The U.S. choice additionally leaves in limbo 1000’s of different Afghans who’ve been accepted for resettlement as refugees within the U.S. however haven’t but been assigned flights from Afghanistan or from neighboring Pakistan, they stated.
Trump made an immigration crackdown a significant promise of his victorious 2024 election marketing campaign, leaving the destiny of U.S. refugee applications up within the air.
The White Home and the State Division, which oversees U.S. refugee applications, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
“Afghans and advocates are panicking,” stated VanDiver. “I’ve needed to recharge my telephone 4 instances already at present as a result of so many are calling me.
“We warned them that this was going to occur, however they did it anyway. We hope they are going to rethink,” he stated of contacts with Trump’s transition staff.
VanDiver’s group is the primary coalition that has been working with the U.S. authorities to evacuate and resettle Afghans within the U.S. for the reason that Taliban seized Kabul because the final U.S. forces left Afghanistan in August 2021 after twenty years of struggle.
Almost 200,000 Afghans have been delivered to the U.S. by former President Joe Biden’s administration for the reason that chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal from Kabul.
One of many dozens of govt orders Trump was to signal after being sworn in for a second time period on Monday was to droop U.S. refugee applications for not less than 4 months, stated an incoming Trump administration official, who requested anonymity.
“We all know because of this unaccompanied kids, (Afghan) associate forces who educated, fought and died or had been injured alongside our troops, and households of lively responsibility U.S. service members are going to be caught,” stated VanDiver.
VanDiver and the U.S. official stated that the Afghans accepted to resettle as refugees within the U.S. had been being faraway from the manifests of flights they had been resulting from take from Kabul between now and April.
They embrace practically 200 members of the family of Afghan-American lively responsibility U.S. service personnel born within the U.S. or of Afghans who got here to the U.S., joined the navy and have become naturalized residents, they stated.
These being faraway from flights additionally embrace an unknown variety of Afghans who fought for the previous U.S.-backed Kabul authorities and a few 200 unaccompanied kids of Afghan refugees or Afghan mother and father whose kids had been introduced alone to the USA through the U.S. withdrawal, stated VanDiver and the U.S. official.
An unknown variety of Afghans who certified for refugee standing as a result of they labored for U.S. contractors or U.S.-affiliated organizations are also within the group, they stated.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)