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WASHINGTON – Negina Khalili’s household sold their location and possessions successful Afghanistan and flew to a U.S. basal successful Qatar successful January, preparing for the past measurement successful emigrating to America. Thirteen days later, the Trump medication took bureau — and suspended the exile programme that would person fto them in.
Now they are among a tiny radical of Afghans who advocates accidental are waiting astatine a campy successful Qatar for support to 1 time travel to America.
“If they nonstop them backmost to Afghanistan," Khalili said, “that volition beryllium a immense hazard for my family."
When President Donald Trump returned to the White House, among the galore immigration-related enforcement orders helium signed was 1 suspending the country's exile program. Thousands of radical astir the satellite abruptly recovered their way chopped disconnected — radical who had been hoping to emigrate to America done a programme that implicit decades has helped radical fleeing war, persecution and strife to travel to the United States.
Now they hold and hope.
For those waiting successful Qatar, clarity fades
For a tiny radical of Afghans successful Qatar, it was particularly jarring. They had traveled determination earlier Trump took office, past recovered themselves stuck with small clarity connected what would hap to them successful the future, advocates and sources acquainted with the concern say.
Shawn VanDiver, the caput of #AfghanEvac, an advocacy radical that works to assistance Afghans who offered assistance during America’s two-decade-long warfare successful Afghanistan emigrate to America, said astir 1,200 Afghan refugees are astatine the basal successful Qatar. That fig was confirmed by a State Department authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publicly.
“We brought them there. And it’s connected america to fig retired what to bash with them next. The lone close reply is to travel done connected what was promised," VanDiver said.
When the Taliban retook powerfulness successful Afghanistan successful August 2021, the U.S. airlifted retired tens of thousands of Afghans who'd supported the American efforts. It was a chaotic withdrawal: Desperate Afghans thronged Kabul's airdrome hoping for a mode out. In the years that followed, arsenic the contented fell from the headlines, the Biden medication continued to relocate tens of thousands of Afghans close up until Biden near office.
There are 2 main ways Afghans tin emigrate to America. The classical illustration is the subject translator who worked straight for the U.S. authorities and qualifies for the peculiar migrant visa. Afghans who don’t conscionable those guidelines but who assisted America’s efforts successful Afghanistan and are astatine hazard for it tin beryllium referred to exile programs.
They usually travel to the United States done a web of “lilypads” acceptable up nether the Biden medication successful a fewer countries astir the world. Afghans who passed cardinal steps successful a lengthy process to emigrate would question to these “lilypads” to decorativeness their processing and yet travel onward to the United States.
In Qatar, they're housed successful a erstwhile U.S. subject basal present tally by the State Department. They can't spell disconnected the basal unless escorted by a U.S. official.
Many refugees are present unopen out
Since Trump returned to office, Afghans tin inactive travel done the peculiar migrant visa process, though they person to wage their ain mode oregon get help. But Afghan refugees person been unopen retired aft Trump suspended the program. In Qatar, that has meant waiting and worrying. Similar concerns are playing retired successful Pakistan, wherever the Pakistani authorities has been aggressively pushing Afghan refugees to instrumentality home.
One of those successful Qatar is Saliha. She's an Afghan lawyer and portion of a procreation of women who grew up aft the U.S. invasion. These women could spell to schoolhouse and college, and get jobs that took them retired into the world.
She opened her ain instrumentality steadfast and helped abused women get divorces. After the Taliban retook control, she and her household went into hiding, and she was referred to the exile programme 2 years ago. Around that time, the Taliban had been going astir to her father’s house, trying to find her and saying: “Your girl helped our wives permission us.” Saliha gave lone her archetypal sanction retired of interest for her information if she and her household were to instrumentality to Afghanistan.
She and her household arrived successful the Qatar campy successful January, hopeful they’d soon beryllium successful America. Then came the exile programme suspension.
Saliha said determination are classes for the Afghan children, and a parkland wherever the kids tin play. The men spell to the gym unneurotic and play soccer; the women often stitchery to socialize.
She tries to beryllium positive, though she's heard astir different Afghans whose resettlement applications were denied and were fixed a period to permission the base. That hasn't happened to her and her family, and she says they're well-treated. But arsenic they hold for progress, she's worried.
“We worked hard and sacrificed a lot. We did thing wrong," Saliha said. “Our lone misdeed is helping the women of Afghanistan, support women who had been abused and raped.”
The programme is suspended indefinitely, for now
It's not wide if the Trump medication volition resume the exile program. Right now, it's suspended indefinitely. Trump requested a study looking astatine whether to resume it, but those results haven't been made public.
Advocates for the Afghan refugees accent however overmuch vetting they spell done earlier really getting to America, and what they did to lend to the U.S. ngo successful Afghanistan. VanDiver said wrong that radical of 1,200 successful Qatar are 200 relatives of U.S. work members.
Groups that assistance to resettle refugees person sued to restart the exile program. An appeals tribunal said the authorities was wrong its authorization to suspend it, but that a tiny subset of already-approved refugees should beryllium allowed in.
The medication argued that the already-approved fig amounted to lone astir 160 radical worldwide. But Monday, a justice enactment the fig astatine astir 12,000 and ordered the authorities to admit them. It's not wide however galore Afghans are included successful this radical oregon however rapidly the authorities volition determination to comply.
In a statement, the State Department said it was “actively considering the aboriginal of our Afghan relocation program” arsenic good arsenic the bureau specifically tasked with coordinating Afghan relocation efforts.
“No last decisions person been made,” the section said. It besides said it continues to supply enactment to “Afghan allies and partners” overseas.
In the meantime, Afghans trying to get to the United States — and those waiting for them present — hold and worry.
Khalili, a erstwhile authoritative successful Afghanistan, fled successful the 2021 withdrawal. She worries astir what volition hap to her father, member and stepmother and whether they’ll beryllium forced backmost to Afghanistan. They connection backmost and distant daily.
“They are facing a batch of slump and they don’t cognize what volition happen," she said. “Every day, I americium reasoning astir my family.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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