Afghan Allies Under Pressure to Self-Deport: Voices from Camp As Sayliyah
As programs created to support America’s Afghan allies are increasingly shuttered, about 1,500 Afghans remain on U.S. base Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) in Doha, Qatar, uncertain about their futures.
Around 1,200 CAS residents are waiting for processing through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which has been suspended by executive order since January 20. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) has attempted to enforce the resumption of the program through Pacito v. Trump. The government has fought the case strenuously, including with its most recent argument that refugees are included in their travel ban.
On July 14, however, Judge Jamal Whitehead ordered the government to resume processing USRAP cases for Afghans at CAS within 14 days.
Senior Staff Attorney at IRAP Mevlüde Akay Alp, said “the court rejected the government’s attempts to undermine its order to process refugees, including Afghans.” Acknowledging the likely legal battles ahead, Alp added that “the government is obligated to process Afghans at CAS, and IRAP stands ready to fight back against any further attempts to abdicate its responsibility to protect Afghan refugees.”
These ever-changing circumstances weigh heavily on Afghans in the USRAP program. Multiple CAS residents and American volunteers confirm that last week, USRAP applicants held several days of peaceful demonstrations to protest the lack of information about their futures. Individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity said that U.S. government officials responded to the protest by telling residents that CAS will close on September 28 and that refugee resettlement is not an option due to the travel ban.
Two CAS residents said that
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