U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday (January 22, 2025) to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.S. troops.
An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when U.S. troops pulled out of the country after two decades.
They want to resettle in the U.S. via an American government programme set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the U.S. government, media, aid agencies and rights groups.
But in his first days in office, Mr. Trump’s administration announced the U.S. Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP) would be suspended from January 27 for at least three months.
During that period, the White House said that the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president whether the resumption of the programme is in the U.S. interest.
“Many of us risked our lives to support the U.S. mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders, and allies,” an advocacy group called Afghan USRAP Refugees –named after the U.S. refugee programme – said in an open letter to Mr. Trump, members of Congress and human rights defenders.
“The Taliban regards us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death,” the group said. “In Pakistan, the situation is increasingly untenable. Arbitrary arrests, deportations, and insecurity compound our distress.”
Hadisa Bibi, a former student in Kabul who fled to neighbouring Pakistan last month, said she read in newspapers that Mr. Trump suspended the refugee program.
“Prior to restrictions on women’s education in Afghanistan, I was a university student,” she said. “Given the risks I face as a women’s rights advocate, I was hoping for a swift resettlement to the United States. This would not only allow me to continue my higher education but also offer a safer and brighter future.”
She said she witnessed several Afghans arrested by Pakistani police, which left her in fear, “confined to my room like a prisoner.”
According to the Afghan USRAP Refugees group, flights to the U.S. for many Afghans had been scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organisation for Migration and U.S. Embassy officials.
“We seek the reversal of the ban on the refugee programme on humanitarian grounds,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who was hoping to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all interviews and medical tests.
Published – January 22, 2025 06:37 pm IST
