Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S. are having their flights canceled under President Donald Trump’s order to suspend U.S. refugee programs, as stated by a U.S. official and a leading refugee resettlement advocate. The group includes unaccompanied minors awaiting reunification with their families in the U.S. and Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution, according to Shawn Vandiver, head of the #AfghanEvac coalition.
The U.S. decision leaves thousands of other Afghans approved for resettlement in limbo, as they have not yet been assigned flights from Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan, as reported by the U.S. official. Vandiver expressed that Afghans and advocates are panicking, stating, “We warned them that this was going to happen, but they did it anyway.”