Reuters has reported that an American official and a prominent advocate for refugee resettlement have stated that the flights for 1,660 Afghan citizens, who had been accepted by the U.S. government for resettlement in America, have been canceled at the order of Donald Trump.
The report mentions that these individuals include unaccompanied minors waiting to join their families in the United States, as well as refugees who are at risk of retaliation because they fought for the former U.S.-backed government of Afghanistan.
Shawn Van Dyke, president of the coalition supporting refugees known as “Afghan Evac,” and another source said that the U.S. decision leaves thousands of other Afghans who have been approved for resettlement as refugees in the U.S. but have not yet had flights scheduled from Afghanistan or Pakistan in a state of uncertainty.
The White House and the U.S. Department of State, which oversee U.S. refugee programs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Van Dyke stated, “Afghans and their advocates are terrified. Today I had to charge my phone four times because so many people are calling me.”
Regarding contact with Trump’s transition team, he said, “We warned them that this was going to happen, but they went ahead anyway. We hope they reconsider this.”
The organization Van Dyke leads is the main coalition working with the U.S. government on evacuating and resettling Afghan refugees in the country since the Taliban took over Kabul.
It is noteworthy that since the withdrawal of American forces from Kabul, nearly 200,000 Afghan citizens have been relocated to the United States by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
It is expected that one of the dozens of executive orders Trump will sign after being sworn in for a second time on Monday (January 21) will suspend U.S. refugee programs for at least four months.
Additionally, the new White House website announced that Mr. Trump will suspend refugee resettlement after communities were forced to accommodate a large number of migrants, putting pressure on community security and resources.
