Trump administration cancels travel for refugees already allowed to settle in US – National
Refugees who were authorized to enter the United States before the Jan. 27 deadline. to stop the resettlement program for American refugees who have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration.
Thousands of refugees are now trapped in various places around the world.
The suspension was part of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday. It left open the possibility that people who had gone through the lengthy process of being recognized as refugees and allowed to come to the US, and who had flights booked before that deadline, could still enter under the wire.
But in an email reviewed Wednesday by The Associated Press, the U.S. refugee agency told staff and stakeholders that “refugee entry into the United States has been suspended until further notice.”
Among those affected are more than 1,600 Afghans who have been authorized to resettle in the US as part of a plan the Biden administration is establishing after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. That number includes those who served with the U.S. military during the war and family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel.
Those Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to Trump to remove them from the order, some saying they risked their lives to support American troops.
An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting in Pakistan to be approved for resettlement in the US through the US government’s program. It was created to help Afghans who are at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the US government, the media, aid organizations and rights groups, after US troops leave Afghanistan in 2021, when the Taliban take over.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, where authorities have urged the international community to decide the fate of 1.45 million Afghan refugees, saying they will not stay forever.
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“Many of us are risking our lives to support the US mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders and allies,” the advocacy group Afghan USRAP Refugees – named after the American refugee program – said in an open letter to Trump, USRAP members. Congress and human rights defenders.
“The Taliban consider us traitors, and returning to Afghanistan will put us at risk of imprisonment, torture, or death,” the group said. “In Pakistan, the situation is getting out of control. Arbitrary arrests, deportations and insecurity make us very depressed.”
Trump’s order had given the agency until Jan. 27 before it begins to suspend all processing and traffic for at least three months. Now, however, it seems that the time on the order has been extended. It was not immediately clear what led to the change.
Refugees are different from people who come directly to the US-Mexico border with the intention of eventually seeking asylum in the US. Refugees must live outside the US to be considered for resettlement and are usually referred to the State Department by the United Nations.
They undergo extensive screening before coming to the US. Once in the US, they are often paired with a resettlement center that helps them adjust to life in America. That includes help finding a job and enrolling their children in school.
Some Afghans were hurt by the suspension
An Afghan woman, Farzana Umeed, and a man, Sarfraz Ahmed, in an interview on the outskirts of Islamabad said they were hurt by the suspension of this program.
“I almost cried last night when we heard the news,” said Umeed. He said that it is difficult for him to live in Pakistan, and he cannot even go to America. “Returning to my hometown means taking a big risk. What should I do,” he asked, and urged Trump to reverse his decision.
Those deported to Pakistan include Afghan journalists who were forced to flee the Taliban for their lives, and now face “great anxiety under the constant threat of arbitrary arrest, police harassment and deportation to Afghanistan,” Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday.
The media unit appealed to Pakistan to ensure the protection of journalists, saying that their visas can be extended for only one month for a fee of $100.
According to the Afghan group USRAP Refugees, flights to the US for many Afghans were scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organization for Migration and US Embassy officials.
“We want a change in the blocking of the refugee program in the humanitarian area,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who hoped to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all the interviews and medical tests.
In addition to Pakistan, more than 3,200 Afghans live in Albania. A member of NATO, Albania initially agreed to accommodate Afghan refugees for one year before they were to settle in the United States, then promised to keep them longer if their visas were delayed.
–in files from the Associated Press’ Munir Ahmed
© 2025 The Canadian Press
