Trump’s suspension of refugee program puts Afghans and others in potential danger, advocates say

Trump’s suspension of refugee program puts Afghans and others in potential danger, advocates say

Days before the executive order was scheduled to go into effect, the action puts tens of thousands of Afghan refugees

in danger.

In accordance with one of President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive orders, the State Department suspended its

refugee program Tuesday evening, stopping all refugee flights into the US.

Originally scheduled to take effect on Monday, the order’s abrupt implementation shocked and concerned

organisations and activists, leaving some migrants already travelling to the United States trapped in transit nations.

According to Kathie O’Callaghan, president of Hearts and Homes for Refugees, a charity organisation that relocates

families from all over the world and is headquartered in Westchester County, New York, “travel has been cancelled

for people who had plans.””Many of these families will be in limbo because they were so close to arriving.”

In addition to larger organisations like churches and foreign nonprofits, the federal government collaborates with

hundreds of smaller groups like O’Callaghan’s to resettle refugees across the nation.

Data, according to advocates, indicates that refugees do not significantly deplete government resources and typically

find successful employment following their initial period of public support upon arrival. Studies show that refugees

have higher employment and labour force participation rates than the general U.S. population.

According to experts, refugees are also put through a more thorough security check than foreign-born people.

Long-time refugee supporter and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-

N.H., expressed her alarm over the presidential order suspending the program.

“Stepping away from this program at a time of unprecedented displacement will put refugees’ lives at risk and

ultimately weaken our nation’s long-term security,” Shaheen said in a statement Wednesday.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the program’s suspension.

Under the first Trump administration, funding cuts, reorganisation, and the effects of the pandemic severely

damaged the U.S. refugee resettlement program.

It was being rebuilt by the Biden administration, which continued until Trump entered power. In the fiscal year

2024, well over 100,000 refugees were resettled in the United States, marking a significant change from the 11,454

refugees admitted three years prior and the largest number of resettled refugees in three decades.

Christian humanitarian group World Relief says the U.S. government has not yet released refugee numbers for the

current fiscal year.

Nearly 70% of those resettled refugees escaped persecution in five countries: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, Myanmar, Syria, and Venezuela. The organisation said in a statement that “more than 27,000 refugees

were admitted to the United States, 2,241 of whom were resettled by World Relief in collaboration with local church

partners across the country” between October and December 2024.

The decision was described as “a step backwards” by the well-known nonprofit refugee aid organisation

International Rescue Committee.

“This nation has been a pioneer in the resettlement of refugees,” stated David Miliband, the CEO and president of

the committee. “The refugee resettlement program is a tried-and-true, systematic, and economical method of

providing some of the world’s most vulnerable people with life-saving protection.”

Afghans at risk

According to advocacy groups, the program’s suspension puts tens of thousands of Afghan refugees at risk, many of

whom have already undergone U.S. screening.

Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, an alliance of American veterans and advocacy organisations, stated

that leaving them is “unconscionable,” pointing out that many of those still in Afghanistan are in grave danger.

“It sends a message to our allies around the world that we’re with you until it’s inconvenient, or with you until our

administration changes,” he stated. “They need to be able to trust the word that our diplomats and our service

members give to them.”

A different immigration route for Afghans who have worked for the U.S. government or military, such as the tens of

thousands who have been translators for the U.S. troops since 2001, is the Special Immigrant Visa program, which is

unaffected by the change.

Afghans must apply through the refugee program for special immigrant visas if they participated in the Afghan

military or advocated for human rights but did not work directly for the U.S. military or embassy.

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