Trump refugee ban ‘strands Afghans endangered by US withdrawal’
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More than 1,600 people eligible to resettle in the United States are waiting to flee Afghanistan and Pakistan, say advocates. More than 1,600 Afghans eligible to enter the US as refugees will see their entry blocked under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Monday evening that suspends the resettlement of all refugees to the United States for an indefinite period of time.
The decision has led to panic among prospective Afghan refugees, including family members of hundreds of active-duty service personnel and children waiting to be reunited with family members already in the US, according to a leading refugee resettlement activist and a US official who spoke with the Guardian on condition of anonymity.
Many of those who have applied are in danger and have time-sensitive reasons to leave the country or neighbouring Pakistan because of their past association with the US, they said. After the White House published the executive order on Monday evening, refugees eligible for resettlement will be pulled from manifests for flights leaving the region for the US as of 27 January.
That leaves one week for advocates of Afghan refugees to lobby for a separate executive order or amendment to exclude them from the ban. The decision threatens to overturn a promise made to Afghans across multiple administrations – including by Trump and the previous president, Joe Biden – to recognise those who aided US troops and non-governmental organisations before the US-backed government collapsed in 2021 and the Taliban swept back to power.
