AfghanEvac Letter to National Security Leadership

This letter was sent to senior leaders from the National Security enterprise asking for clarity

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The Honorable Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
Washington, D.C

The Honorable Kristi Noem
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C

The Honorable Mike Waltz
National Security Advisor
The White House – National Security Council
Washington, D.C

April 23, 2025

Subject: Request for Clarification and Continuation of Legal Pathways for Afghan Wartime Allies

Dear Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, Secretary Noem, and National Security Advisor Waltz:

I write today as President of AfghanEvac, and on behalf of veterans, military families, and civil society leaders who have been working tirelessly since August 2021 to help America keep its word to our Afghan wartime allies. With respect and urgency, I call on you to take swift and clear action to preserve the integrity of Enduring Welcome—our nation’s most secure, lawful, and strategically vital immigration program—and to clarify the Trump Administration’s overall position on efforts to keep promises made to wartime allies.

Let us be clear from the outset: Enduring Welcome is not an act of charity. It is a strategic investment in national security. Humanitarian arguments may not carry weight with all audiences—but this is about honoring wartime commitments, maintaining global credibility, and preventing regional instability that puts Americans at risk. It is in our national interest to see it through.

This is not the first time we have asked for clarity. We sent a transition memo prior to the inauguration warning that broad-based immigration policy shifts might inadvertently harm Afghan allies in the U.S. pipeline. We followed up with a formal February 2025 letter alerting you to that very outcome—specifically, the unintended (we assumed at the time) disruption to the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) operations and the broader Enduring Welcome program. To date, only USCIS has responded—and not with sufficient clarity. Since then, we have sent repeated messages to senior leaders at each department, including DHS, State, and DOD, offering recommendations, requesting collaborative engagement, and asking for answers. To date, we have not received a formal response from the Departments or interagency.

There is no cohesive public guidance on the future of Enduring Welcome or CARE. Implementing partners have received stop-payment notices. Flights are suspended. Contracts are paused. Families are stranded. At every level—from Afghan families abroad to Afghan Americans here at home—people do not know what to do. They do not know if they are safe. They do not know if the United States still intends to keep its word.

What is needed now is clarity—and leadership. America’s allies, our veterans, and even U.S. citizens are caught in a fog of inconsistent statements and bureaucratic inaction. The result is confusion, stagnation, and growing disillusionment—with real consequences for U.S. national credibility and global leadership.

These disruptions have not only stopped movement—they have prevented newly arrived allies from quickly becoming self-sufficient. Resettlement is not a handout; it is an investment that pays off almost immediately in terms of workforce participation, civic engagement, and national security.

Now, with the full impact of Executive Orders 14161, 14163, and 14169 laid bare, the damage is undeniable:

EO 14163 suspended United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) processing and admissions. The April 20 report deadline has passed, and there is still no clarity on whether the suspension will continue. On April 21, the 9th Circuit clarified the scope of criteria to determine which refugees of whom “the government must resume processing, facilitation of travel to the United States, admission, and provision of resettlement benefits after admission.” The district court has repeatedly found that the administration must cease withholding funding and the suspension of the USRAP – and instead must resume refugee processing and admissions in accordance with the 9th Circuit.
EO 14169, under the guise of pausing foreign aid, has blocked the critical funding that enabled relocation logistics for Afghans already cleared through both Consular (SIV/IV) and USRAP pathways. This has compounded the harm caused by EO 14163, causing CARE flights to stop and resettlement infrastructure to collapse.
EO 14161 is expected to result in a nationality-based visa ban for numerous countries but, we understand, the State Department’s report to the White House is late, and no guidance has been issued.

Since January 20, your agencies have:

Sent humanitarian parole termination notices to Afghans who arrived under Operation Allies Welcome, despite later admitting these were sent in error. These notices have created life-altering consequences and sowed fear among allies who believed they were safe in the U.S. The Afghans who arrived through CBPOne at the southern border who received these notices, not sent in error, are now vulnerable to refoulement, a violation of U.S. law.
Allowed TPS for Afghans to expire—a decision that jeopardizes legal protections for individuals brought here by our government and a decision that seemingly has no basis in reality, given the Taliban reprisals to which we’ve borne witness.
Proposed winding down Enduring Welcome despite it being fully authorized through December 31, 2027, under bipartisan legislation passed in December 2024 as part of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congressionally-appropriated resources to support Enduring Welcome operations have been extended through FY25.
Allowed immigration processing within the U.S.—including green cards, asylum adjudications, and work authorization—to grind to a halt. Afghan parolees are being left in legal limbo. We urge DHS to immediately restart domestic immigration processing.
Halted refugee processing for Afghans in Pakistan despite an active diplomatic agreement between the United States and the Government of Pakistan to support those in the Enduring Welcome pipeline. This decision not only undermines bilateral relations but may violate the terms of a negotiated international commitment.

Before it was paused, Enduring Welcome was successfully relocating approximately 5,000 Afghans per month—all of whom had cleared multiple layers of identity verification and national security vetting. These were not speculative pipelines. These were lives in motion, families prepared, and infrastructure operational. That progress is now stalled, at great cost to American credibility and human life.

Every individual approved for relocation through this process was confirmed as a wartime ally, or an immediate family member of one—never admitted before vetting was complete. That clarity matters, especially as some wrongly claim these efforts lack discipline or selectivity.

Let me be clear–Enduring Welcome is critical to properly concluding the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and restoring America’s reputation as a country that keeps its word. It is one of the most efficient and secure immigration pathways in U.S. history—a program built with input from veterans and civil society, and whose beneficiaries are rigorously vetted through DHS, DOD, the IC, and the State Department.

As of today:

Over 250,000 Afghans remain in the relocation pipeline, including more than 3,000 family members of active-duty U.S. service members. Enduring Welcome verifies that each individual is a vetted ally, or the spouse or child of one, before relocation occurs.
At least 10,000 family members of previously relocated Afghans remain stranded, separated from their loved ones due to administrative paralysis.
More than 200 U.S. citizens are still in Afghanistan, many of whom are awaiting relocation with their Afghan family members in the middle of CARE processing.
147,000 Afghans currently hold Chief of Mission (COM) approval, meaning they’ve passed critical security, employment, and eligibility vetting.
Fewer than 10,000 SIVs remain, leaving three times as many principal applicants approved as visas available. Without immediate congressional action, even those who have cleared every U.S. national security check will be left behind.

We ask for your leadership on the following:

Publicly and unequivocally affirm that Enduring Welcome is not being terminated, and that processing—including SIV, IV, Follow-to-Join, and USRAP P1/P2/P3—remains a priority for this administration.
Immediately correct erroneous DHS notices related to parole and provide formal guidance to Afghans in the U.S. under all statuses, especially OAW arrivals, to prevent wrongful deportation or denial of services. This should also include a rescission of the DHS notices to CBPOne arrivals, who entered the United States through a port of entry under U.S.-mandated procedure. Make it clear that those with ongoing cases or pending asylum claims do not need to leave.
Affirm that the $600M in remaining CARE funds will be used to fulfill the program’s mandate—not dismantle it, and that the U.S. will adhere to court orders related to USRAP processing. This should also include transferring the $1.5 billion in the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account designated for Afghan refugee and SIV processing to the Enduring Welcome and Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) accounts to facilitate their travel to the United States.
Support an interagency compliance plan to follow the recent federal court rulings in Pacito v. Trump and ensure that all those already conditionally approved under USRAP and meet the criteria laid out by the 9th Circuit are processed without further delay. This should include restoring the agreements, contracts, funding streams, and access to databases that resettlement agencies, Resettlement Support Centers, and other implementing partners need to facilitate refugee processing and admissions.
Work with Congress to authorize at least 40,000 new SIVs, ensuring we do not abandon the majority of our approved wartime allies simply due to an artificial cap.
Instruct DHS to immediately restart all paused domestic immigration processing, including green cards, asylum applications, and work authorization (EADs), to ensure legal stability and economic productivity for Afghan parolees.
Fulfill the U.S. government’s diplomatic agreement with Pakistan by directing the Department of State to re-engage with Pakistani officials and resume refugee processing for Afghans currently residing there.

Finally, please find enclosed an open letter signed by hundreds of veterans—including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—who served in every branch of the U.S. military. These men and women stood beside our Afghan partners. They have now stood up again to demand that our government do the same.

This moment will define whether the United States is a nation that honors its promises—and whether we still understand that strength, security, and prosperity are built by keeping our word. Programs like Enduring Welcome are not acts of charity. They are expressions of American strategic interest—ensuring that allies trust us, that dangerous regions remain stable, and that our institutions remain credible. Following through on these commitments makes the U.S. safer. It makes us stronger. And it makes us more respected.

This is not about political ideology—it is about operational integrity, rule of law, and national honor. The American people—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike—expect that we finish the mission.

We urge you to meet that expectation with decisive leadership.

Urgently,

Shawn J. VanDiver
President, AfghanEvac