Trump May Send Afghan Allies Who Were Promised New Lives In The U.s. To Congo Instead

Hundreds of Afghan refugees who helped nan United States conflict nan Taliban whitethorn beryllium sent to nan Democratic Republic of Congo aft nan Trump management halted their U.S. resettlement, an defense group said.

Shawn VanDiver, president of San Diego-based defense group AfghanEvac, said he had been briefed connected nan DRC scheme by aggregate officials pinch nonstop knowledge of it who activity either astatine nan State Department aliases successful adjacent coordination pinch it.

The Trump management scheme was first reported by The New York Times.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, a Central African state wherever nan Afghans person nary ties, is experiencing 1 of nan world’s worst humanitarian crises, pinch much than 600,000 refugees location already aft decades of equipped conflict.

VanDiver accused nan Trump management of intentionally offering nan Afghan refugees an replacement truthful bad that they would take to return to Afghanistan moreover if it intends risking their lives.

“This is insane,” he told NBC News successful an interview, noting successful a abstracted connection that “you do not lick nan world’s number 1 exile situation by dumping it into nan world’s number two.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo authorities and its U.S. embassy did not instantly respond to requests for remark overnight.

The State Department did not respond to a petition for remark Tuesday. A spokesperson antecedently said that nan Trump management has nary plans to unit anyone backmost to Afghanistan and that moving refugees from Camp As Sayliyah successful Qatar to 3rd countries was “a affirmative resolution.”

The spokesperson said that Afghan refugees were not decently vetted nether nan Biden administration, which AfghanEvac and different defense groups dispute.

“The American group person had to salary nan value for nan irresponsible measurement hundreds of thousands of Afghans were brought into nan United States,” Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, told The New York Times connected Tuesday. “Our attraction now is connected restoring accountability by advancing responsible, voluntary resettlement options.”

Advocates for Afghan refugees astatine nan camp, which is slated for closure, opportunity nan Trump management is trying to unit them into returning to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, wherever they perchance look persecution, imprisonment aliases decease nether nan Islamic fundamentalist regime.

There are astir 1,100 Afghans astatine Camp As Sayliyah, a erstwhile U.S. subject guidelines extracurricular Doha, wherever they were evacuated to await U.S. resettlement aft U.S.-led troops withdrew from Afghanistan successful 2021. They see erstwhile members of nan Afghan typical forces, interpreters who worked pinch nan U.S. subject and others whose activity puts astatine them consequence of persecution by nan Taliban.

Most of nan group astatine nan campy person been approved for U.S. colony aft extended information screening, and much than 400 of them are children. Many person been waiting for months aliases years to beryllium reunited pinch family successful nan U.S., including relatives of U.S. work members and veterans.

The State Department said earlier this twelvemonth that it planned to quiet nan campy by March 31, a deadline that came and went pinch nary updates.

The DRC is incapable to support nan refugees it already has, astir of whom are from neighboring Rwanda and nan Central African Republic, VanDiver said. It’s besides unclear what protections if immoderate nan Afghans would person against repatriation.

“There’s nary jobs. They’re successful nan mediate of a civilian war. It’s not a spot for Afghans,” he said. “They’re conscionable going to extremity up getting deported backmost to Afghanistan by nan DRC government.”

As portion of his migration crackdown, Trump has blocked virtually each paths to nan U.S. for Afghan allies, more than 190,000 of whom were resettled successful nan U.S. from August 2021 until mid-2025. Afghan friends and their family members person been detained by U.S. migration officials, pinch 1 of them dying past period aft little than 24 hours successful custody. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement said nan decease of Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, was being investigated.)

Restrictions were further tightened aft a November shooting successful Washington killed 1 National Guard personnel and earnestly injured another.

The suspect, identified arsenic Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan nationalist who served alongside U.S. troops arsenic portion of an elite CIA-backed portion successful Afghanistan. He was granted asylum by nan Trump management past twelvemonth aft having arrived successful nan U.S. during nan Biden administration.

Retribution from nan Taliban is not nan only situation facing refugees who return to Afghanistan, wherever nan U.S. warfare began successful 2001.

Women’s authorities person been severely curtailed since nan Taliban’s return to power, and nan state is facing a number of humanitarian crises, including wide malnutrition.

Afghanistan has besides been engaged successful a deadly conflict pinch neighboring Pakistan, pinch Pakistani airstrikes killing civilians successful Kabul and elsewhere.

VanDiver said nan Trump management has been successful negotiations pinch dozens of countries, galore of them successful Africa, to judge nan Afghans presently successful Qatar. He said nan talks were apt to person been analyzable by different actions by nan administration, which has included galore of nan aforesaid countries successful recreation bans aliases required their citizens to salary thousands of dollars successful visa bonds earlier walking to nan U.S.

Those negotiations are abstracted from nan ones nan Trump management has been holding pinch various countries, including nan Democratic Republic of Congo, to judge migrants from different countries who look deportation from nan U.S. In exchange, nan U.S. is paying millions of dollars to their governments, immoderate of which person records of quality authorities abuses.

Critics of nan Trump administration’s curen of Afghan friends opportunity it could harm U.S. nationalist information by making section populations little consenting to activity pinch U.S. forces successful early conflicts.

VanDiver noted that location is thing stopping nan Trump management from bringing nan hundreds of Afghans astatine nan campy who person passed information screening to nan U.S. arsenic promised.

In nan meantime, he said, nan continuing uncertainty of nan business has taken a terrible toll connected their intelligence well-being.

“They’re reaching their breaking point,” he said.