The U.S. Is Closing Every Door on Afghan Allies
As the U.S. wraps up the congressionally mandated Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) program, uncertainty for allies overseas is on the rise. Some allies who relied on CARE housing for safety while waiting on a yearslong processing queue now face an uncertain future, while multiple endangered U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) applicants have reportedly been deported from Pakistan, where they once sought refuge during case processing.
Closing Every Path to Safety
According to Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, the CARE-funded housing where Special Immigration Visa (SIV) holders and USRAP applicants were sometimes kept safe during processing in Islamabad and Kabul “has been kicking people out…for months.”Â
VanDiver also confirmed that the State Department is beginning to present options for dismantling Camp As Sayliyah, the main facility for SIV and USRAP case processing in Doha, Qatar. Around 1,500 Afghans remain on the base, VanDiver said, about 1,200 of whom are waiting on USRAP processing, while another 300 are SIV recipients awaiting privately funded movement to the U.S.Â
There are four possible plans being considered for the future of Camp As Sayliyah’s residents. First, relocating to a third country. This is at present a “hypothetical,” according to VanDiver, because the State Department “has been trying for four years to identify countries willing to take Afghans who can’t pass vetting, and they’ve been unsuccessful.”
The second option, and the one VanDiver said is “looking like the only option,” is to leave Afghan residents’ futures to the whims of Qatari officials. “Kicking the can to Qatar while refusing to take responsibility ourselves isn’t
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