Trump administration cancels flights for refugees from Afghanistan - Reuters
Flights for Afghan refugees were canceled in the US (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
According to the executive order by US President Donald Trump to freeze refugee programs, flights to the United States were halted for nearly 1,660 Afghan citizens, including members of US military families, reports Reuters.
According to an anonymous US official and leading refugee relocation advocate Shawn VanDiver, in a conversation with journalists, the US government had previously allowed these Afghan refugees to resettle in the US.
It is noted that the refugee groups whose flights were canceled on January 20 include unaccompanied minors waiting to reunite with their families in the US.
The groups also consist of Afghans facing potential punishment from the Taliban for fighting on behalf of the former Afghan government that was supported by Washington.
This threat from the Taliban has loomed over them since the last US forces left Afghanistan in August 2021 after two decades of war.
Additionally, Reuters reports that the US decision also leaves thousands of other Afghans in a suspended state who had been granted refugee status to resettle in the US but have yet to be assigned flights from Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan.
According to VanDiver, Afghans and human rights advocates are now panicking.
Relocation of Afghan refugees to the US and Trump's strengthening of immigration restrictions
The administration of former US President Joe Biden facilitated the relocation of nearly 200,000 Afghans to the US after the withdrawal of American troops from Kabul.
During the presidential campaign, Trump had expressed his intention to intensify immigration crackdowns.
One of the executive orders he was set to sign following his inauguration on January 20 includes suspending US refugee programs for at least four months, according to a Reuters source from the new president's administration, who requested anonymity.
It is noted that among the refugees whose flights have now been canceled, there are about 200 family members of Afghan-American US military personnel who were born in the US, or Afghans who came to the US, joined the military, and became naturalized citizens of the country.
Among those being removed from flights, there is also an unknown number of Afghans who fought for the former US-supported Kabul government, as well as about 200 unaccompanied Afghan children or Afghan parents whose children were brought to the US during the withdrawal of the American military from Afghanistan.
Additionally, there is a certain number of Afghans who were granted refugee status because they worked for US contractors or were affiliated with US-based organizations.
Ahead of his inauguration, Donald Trump promised a swift closure of border crossings for illegal immigrants. He also stated that he plans the largest deportation in US history.
On January 20, Western media reported that Trump, after the inauguration, would declare a state of emergency at the US-Mexico border.
