Trump executive orders and policy changes suspend relocation and resettlement of Afghan allies
President Trump’s Executive Orders on foreign aid and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) have had severe national security consequences, stranding thousands of vetted Afghan allies, both refugees and SIVs, and putting American credibility and strategic interests at risk.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem could – and must – take immediate action to exempt Afghan allies from these executive orders in order to restore order and uphold America’s standing in the world.
Executive Order 14163
Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program
EO 14163 Pauses all refugee processing and travel globally. All refugees, including Afghans in the USRAP P-1, P-2, P-3, and P-4 categories, including DS-4317 Family Reunification cases, have been paused due to USRAP Executive Order.
This means there is no intake of new cases, no processing of existing cases, and no movement for approved cases.
This includes family members of current U.S. service members; unaccompanied minors who need to be reunited with their family members; women who served as Female Tactical Platoon leaders, judges, journalists, and parliamentarians; members of the Afghan Defense Force who served alongside the U.S. military; and more.
USRAP refugees undergo the most secure immigration screening process in the world. FBI, DHS, DoD, and intelligence agencies vet them multiple times before approval.
These are NOT border crossers—they are legal immigrants with U.S. government referrals.
Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in Afghanistan and Pakistan have had all processing and travel suspended – leaving them in grave danger for even longer.
Executive Order 14169
Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid
EO 14169 Pauses foreign aid, which has a direct impact on the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Process. While this order does not directly pause the SIV process, it has shut down the support services that enable it to work.
Here’s what is still technically functioning – the actual PROCESSING of SIVs is still ongoing:
Intake of SIV applications
Chief of Mission review and decisions
Visa application and issuance
Because SIV travel is funded by foreign aid, even if an applicant is approved and receives their visa, they can no longer receive funding for travel.
This also means that SIVs already on U.S.-government managed immigration processing sites in third countries are unable to get funded travel to the United States, creating a bottleneck in SIV movement. Since SIVs can’t be easily moved OFF the platforms, the State Department has postponed flights out of Afghanistan TO the platforms – meaning that thousands of our wartime allies remain in danger.
Resettlement Agencies in the U.S. have also been de-funded, so cannot provide critical support services or benefits to SIVs upon arrival to the United States. All refugees and SIV holders who arrived in the U.S. in the last ninety days have had their financial and support services turned off, creating a crisis for newly resettled Afghans.
EO14161 Requires the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelligence to submit a report to the WH identifying countries for which vetting and screening information is considered deficient in order to either partially or completely suspend admission of nationals from those countries into the United States.
Should Afghanistan be included on the list of countries for which vetting and screening information is deemed insufficient, even Afghans with issued U.S. Special Immigrant Visas in their passports would be denied entry into the country. Afghans in third countries, including those on CARE-managed platforms who have already been rigorously vetted and who have already been issued visas, would be stuck in limbo with no pathway to the U.S. and a heightened threat of Taliban retribution were they to return to Afghanistan with a U.S. visa in their passport.
Afghans in the Enduring Welcome pathway are among the most highly and thoroughly vetted immigrant populations in the U.S. – if not THE most highly vetted. Afghans in the Special Immigrant Visa program should be exempted from any admission suspension.
What’s still working /
what’s not
Enduring Welcome | Relocation Preparation Process
Enduring Welcome | CARE Platforms Process
Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Process
Additional Crisis: Termination of TPS and Parole
As part of a broader campaign to dismantle protections for Afghan allies, the Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to strip away legal status from Afghans already in the United States—many of whom were brought here by our own government.
🔴 Termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
On April 11, 2025, DHS confirmed that TPS for Afghanistan will be terminated effective May 20, 2025. That decision will leave over 14,000 Afghans vulnerable to deportation back to Taliban-controlled territory—despite ongoing armed conflict, targeted killings, and the complete dismantling of civil society.
TPS does not grant new arrivals entry into the U.S. It simply protects those already here—including many evacuated under Operation Allies Welcome—from falling out of status. It also provides them work authorization while they wait for asylum, SIV, or other long-term pathways to be processed.
This move is a moral and policy failure—and it ignores the lived reality of Afghans who cannot safely return home.
📄 More on the TPS decision from DHS:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/25/2023-20791/extension-and-redesignation-of-afghanistan-for-temporary-protected-status
🧾 Legal context and analysis from IRAP:
https://refugeerights.org/tps
🔴 Revocation of Humanitarian Parole
Thousands of Afghan parolees who were relocated to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome or other urgent processes are now facing termination of their parole. Some have received notices of intent to remove within 7 days—despite ongoing asylum claims or pending adjustment of status.
This is not just administrative cruelty—it’s a fast track to deportation for people we promised to protect. In many cases, these are people who passed extensive security vetting, have U.S. ties, and are waiting on delayed adjudication processes beyond their control.
⚠️ What This Means
Together, these policies:
Undermine Congress’s clear intent when authorizing Enduring Welcome and CARE through 2027.
Leave tens of thousands of Afghans without legal status, work authorization, or protection from deportation.
Create a chilling effect on cooperation, stability, and faith in U.S. promises—both at home and abroad.
Response Efforts
At AfghanEvac, we refuse to stand by as our wartime allies are placed at risk. In the face of Executive Orders and administrative actions that undermine the safety and dignity of Afghan allies and displaced persons, we are leading a coordinated, multi-pronged response to defend their futures and hold our country to its promises.
✉️ Advocacy and Action
We are working around the clock to counter these harmful policies:
Letters to Leadership: AfghanEvac has spearheaded urgent letters to Congress, the Administration, and key agency leaders demanding protection for Afghan allies and accountability for harmful decisions.
→ View the pre-transition letter
→ View our first letter to Secretaries Rubio, Hegseth, and Noem
→ View our open letter to GWOT veterans
→ View our letter from veterans to the administration
→ View our second letter to Secretaries Rubio, Hegseth, Noem, and National Security Advisor Waltz
Direct Engagement: We are coordinating daily with members of Congress, administration officials, and coalition partners to push for immediate action, legislative protections, and program reinstatements.
Grassroots Mobilization: AfghanEvac has launched action campaigns that empower veterans, refugees, and advocates to contact elected officials and share the real human cost of these policy decisions.
📣 Communications and Public Awareness
Media Outreach: AfghanEvac is driving national media coverage to expose the consequences of these Executive Orders, amplify Afghan voices, and call the public to action.
Social Media Campaigns: We are keeping our coalition and supporters informed in real time across platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook.
Coalition Coordination: We are working alongside our 200+ partner organizations to ensure a unified, strategic communications response.
⚖️ Legal Challenges
In addition to policy advocacy, AfghanEvac is monitoring and supporting critical legal actions that seek to protect the rights of Afghan allies:
Pacito v. Trump — Challenging the constitutionality and humanitarian impact of Executive Orders targeting refugees and displaced persons.
Doe v. Noem — Defending the rights of Afghan parolees and refugees against discriminatory state-level actions.
Legal resources and support — AfghanEvac recommends anyone involved in this work or impacted by these actions become very familiar with the IRAP legal resources page
🚨 What's at Stake
Every day of delay puts lives at risk. Every broken promise damages America’s credibility. AfghanEvac is committed to ensuring our country finishes what it started — by defending our allies, restoring our honor, and keeping faith with those who stood by us.
How to help
Contact your member of Congress today
The Trump Administration must immediately exempt Enduring Welcome-eligible Afghan allies from these executive orders.
Our recent letter to Secretaries Rubio, Hegseth and Noem explains why.
Contact your Member of Congress and tell them to insist that the Trump Administration keep the promise we made to our Afghan allies.
Find your Member of Congress here
Contact your State and Local elected officials and ask them to pass our resolution supporting Enduring Welcome.