A coalition of U.S. veterans has urged the Biden administration to resume the relocation process for eligible Afghan refugees, calling for an exemption from former President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions.
In a letter addressed to the U.S. Secretaries of State, Homeland Security, and Defense, the coalition highlighted the urgent need to relocate Afghan allies, many of whom worked alongside U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan.
According to Reuters, Shawn VanDiver, head of the AfghanEvac coalition, wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, warning that failing to relocate Afghan allies could undermine trust in the United States and weaken local support for U.S. forces in future conflicts.
In the letter, VanDiver argued that not exempting Afghan refugees from Trump’s order would send a dangerous message to adversaries such as ISIS, suggesting that the United States abandons its allies in times of need.
A copy of the letter was also sent to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
VanDiver urged senior members of Trump’s cabinet to allow Afghan refugees to be resettled, despite the broader suspension of refugee admissions.
On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order halting the U.S. refugee admissions programme, effectively freezing the resettlement of thousands of displaced individuals, including Afghans awaiting relocation.
According to the AfghanEvac coalition, approximately 3,000 Afghan refugees remain stranded in camps in Qatar and Albania, while an estimated 50,000 others are stuck in Pakistan and other countries, awaiting approval to enter the United States.
Despite the ongoing suspension, Trump granted an exemption last Friday allowing a group of white South African refugees to be relocated to the United States, a decision that has sparked debate over the prioritisation of refugee resettlement policies.
