The Trump administration appears to be considering ways to unwind operations for an office that helps resettle Afghans, Scripps News confirmed.
The administration is asking the interagency to draft plans to wind down operations of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, according to a U.S. government official.
Much of the program has already been paused as State Department staff are being told the government is looking at options, according to a source familiar with the program, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The shuttering of operations for the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts could impact hundreds of thousands of Afghans with eligible pathways to the U.S. — with about 40,000 to 50,000 people already travel-ready, according to a government official.
A final decision has not about the program's fate has not been make, according to the source.
“I don’t think it’s a program they’re after,” the source told Scripps News, “It’s getting washed in with the whole tide with all the programs.”
The Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts serves as the interagency effort to resettle Afghan allies. It handles relocation logistics and processing cases in third-party countries. The program was established in the midst of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban was retaking control of the country. Afghan nationals have sought resettlement through the Special Immigration Visa process and the refugee program.
The potential drafting of plans to wind down operations for the CARE office was first reported by Reuters.
Potential plans may include suspending relocation flights out of Afghanistan and shutting down operations in other countries where processing takes place, including Albania and Qatar, according to a U.S. government official.
The latest direction comes as efforts to resettle Afghan families of U.S. service members, people who aided the U.S. military and unaccompanied children waiting for family reunification have been impacted by the Trump administration’s recent executive actions. The orders halted the refugee admission program and paused foreign aid.
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“In Afghanistan, there are about 40,000 people who have already gotten their chief of mission approval. Their identities have been validated, their security vetted. They're ready to move onward and to achieve their American dream. In Pakistan, there are roughly 15,000 people in the SIV, or refugee track, who are vetted,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations helping Afghans resettle. “There are 3,000 active duty US military family members. There are 10,000 people who are a family reunification of some sort.”
The Trump administration has undertaken a broader effort to re-evaluate government spending.
The White House did not comment directly on specific programs, but officials have noted the ongoing assessments in the federal government.
"Applying a lens over all the foreign aid and money we deploy around the world is an important conversation to have, but our commitment to those to those in Afghanistan who have helped us doesn't waver, but it requires a more sensible process than we've employed,” said National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes. “If you look at what happened in Munich while they were having the security meetings there in Munich, the car attack was done by an Afghan national who had not been vetted properly by Germany. So we need a program that engages with those in Afghanistan and ensures that the vetting is done in a way that respects those who served us and helped us in Afghanistan, but also ensures safety and security here at home.”
Others have pointed to strengths in the vetting process.
"This is the most secure legal immigration system that we have, the fact that we vet people eight different ways before we bring them to a third country to get vetted even more before they come here is extraordinary,” said VanDiver.
He warned of the message the move could send to wartime allies.
“If our wartime allies look around, or if the local forces look around, say, ‘Hey, I remember what you did to Afghanistan,’ they're not going to help us,” he said.
The coalition has worked to raise their concerns to the Trump administration as the president has promised tougher immigration policies.
“President Trump had a lot to say about the withdrawal. He had a lot to say about Afghanistan and what happened afterward, in all of the debates and at the RNC, it came up every day. He paraded the Abbey Gate families out on the stage. He went to their graves. So we are not sure that President Trump knows that this is happening, because it's just unconscionable that the administration would betray veterans this way,” VanDiver said. “So we think it must be a mistake, and we hope that by stories being out there, the president and the national security leaders in our government will understand that this is a mistake. They have to keep this going, and President Trump has an opportunity to be a hero to veterans, to be a hero to our wartime allies and to keep our country safe far beyond his term.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
