The suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program was among the bevy of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office – and it has advocates sounding the alarm.
The order, titled “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” threatens to leave some 2,000 Afghans in a state of uncertainty despite already being approved to resettle in the United States, CNN reported.
Anne C. Richard, who served as former President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, told CNN on Tuesday that many of those in limbo could be in danger, adding that the Taliban could “absolutely” be searching for them.
“These are people who are themselves, or are family of, people who've served with, alongside American military in Afghanistan, or worked for the embassy or, development agencies, or spoke up on behalf of human rights,” said Richards, a senior adviser to #AfghanEvac.
“And so, these are the good guys who’ve lost out to the Taliban, and the Taliban is very clear that they want to get them,” she added. “They’re threatening them, and their lives are at risk.”
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Immediately impacted by Trump’s executive order are the families of an estimated 200 U.S. service members, and some families of the individuals who have already relocated to America, Shawn VanDiver, the founder and president of #AfghanEvac, told CNN.
That raised concerns for VanDiver, who through the coalition of organizations he founded has helped to secure safety for Afghan allies since the end of the war in 2021, according to CNN.
“These people have been waiting long enough,” VanDiver told the network. “They’re in hiding, they’re in limbo, and President Trump campaigned about Afghanistan. … He started the end of the Afghan war and now he’s got to finish it. And that means bringing all of our allies to safety.”
Trump’s order said the entry of refugees into the country under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
“I therefore direct that entry into the United States of refugees under the USRAP be suspended,” he said, adding that it would be suspended beginning on January 27, “for at least 90 days, if not longer.”