Trump order suspending refugee resettlement affects US Afghan allies, says advocacy group

                                                                                                                                                                       

 Washington — President Trump’s executive order halting the U.S. refugee program impacts many Afghans. These individuals provided aid to the United States during the Afghan war. An advocacy group has made this assertion.

The suspension would affect the resettlement of thousands of Afghans. These individuals actively supported the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan. Afghans Evac is a California-based coalition. This coalition consists of organizations. They are aiding U.S. Afghan allies to reestablish in the U.S. They have said this on Monday. The group mentioned that the halt in all refugee resettlements will influence Afghan allies. "Thousands of Afghan allies have completed nearly all needed steps in the refugee process," according to AfghanEvac. This is a statement in its X account. It would not take long for them to be affected by this pause in refugee settlement. Thousands of others are still in the process. They will be kept in limbo. President Donald Trump signed the executive order Monday. U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is detrimental to U.S. interests. It is being suspended starting on January 27.

“This order is suspended USRAP until further entry into U.S.of refugees aligned with U.S. interest,” states the executive order. It calls for the secretary of Department of Homeland Security to work with the secretary of state. Their task is to report to the president in 90 days. The report should determine whether the program “would be in U.S. interests.” The order includes a stipulation saying that every 90 days a report should be submitted to the president. It should be submitted until the president determines that resuming USRAP aligns with U.S. interests. According to Shawn VanDiver president of AghanEvac more than 180,000 Afghans relocated in U.S. from August 2021. It was after Taliban took over in Afghanistan to December 2024. Thousands of Afghans are waiting to be relocated to United States. AfghanEvac mentioned that the order would not only affect at-risk Afghans living in hiding. But it would also have impact on family members of active-duty U.S. troops. Reuters reported earlier that flights of 1,660 Afghans were cleared by U.S. government to resettle in U.S. The flights were canceled. But Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac denied the news. He said in a post on X that no flights were canceled. Omar Samad a former Afghan diplomat living in U.S. told VOA that the ban is part of a bigger package. It will impact Afghans waiting for U.S. relocation. "It will be reviewed by U.S. agencies. It is possible that they U.S. make an exception for Afghans," Samad added. VanDiver said coalition of organizations are working to secure exemptions for Afghan allies.