U.S. Abandons Afghan Allies as Trump Administration Shuts Down Resettlement Programs
The State Department is eliminating the CARE office and ending the Enduring Welcome program, stranding U.S. allies who risked their lives and were told America would protect them.
Last week, the Trump administration eliminated the Congressionally mandated entity that oversees vetted Afghan allies' travel to the U.S. and stated that it will dismantle the program that oversees their resettlement, continuing the series of blows dealt to our Afghan allies since January 20.
In a document sent by the State Department to multiple Congressional Committees on May 29, the Department announced that "the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) Office will be eliminated and its functions will be realigned to the Afghanistan Affairs Office."
The decision angered Rep. Dina Titus (D–Nev.), sponsor of the CARE Authorization Act, which passed with bipartisan support in November 2024. The act states that the Secretary of State "shall appoint" a coordinator for a term of three years to assist in relocating and resettling "eligible Afghan allies," facilitating the relocation of American citizens or legal permanent residents, and coordinating with the interagency.
On May 29, Titus shared a video on X of a question she asked of Secretary of State Marco Rubio only a week earlier, as he came before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "We are going to continue with this Afghan relocation…this CARE office, is what you're committing to me?" Titus asks. "We're going to comply with the statutory requirements," Rubio replies.
"Clearly, he lied," Titus commented.
Two days later, the White House's Technical Supplement to the 2026 Budget included notice that the government will soon terminate the Enduring Welcome program, "the U.S. Government's long-term resettlement program which relies on standard immigration pathways for immigrant visa, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa, and refugee admissions programs."
"The Department will shut down the Enduring Welcome program by the end of FY 2025," the document explains. With no additional funds for the program, the document states that "any remaining prior-year balances will be used solely to finalize contractual and/or other legal obligations."
I asked the State Department whether CARE will recommence funding travel for vetted allies prior to its July 1 sundown date, and whether the Trump administration has made a final decision about the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), the 90-day suspension and review of which was meant to end on April 20. I received no response.
On June 4, days after announcing the sunset of the systems that assist our allies, the Trump administration announced via executive order that it will ban travel for nationals of 12 countries, including Afghanistan. There are exceptions for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, and the executive order states that it does not "limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the [Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment of Punishment]."
Shawn VanDiver, president of the nonprofit #AfghanEvac, said the exemption for SIV applicants is "functionally useless" given that CARE and Enduring Welcome no longer exist to help with resettlement and travel. According to VanDiver, the order blocks some family reunification programs, eliminates student visas for Afghans, and "does nothing to help our allies, including the family of active duty U.S. military service members stranded" in third countries.
The nonprofit No One Left Behind expressed gratitude for the SIV exemption in a press release but noted that the order does not protect Afghans "who were injured in the line of duty and were unable to complete a full year of service" or "the women and men of the Afghan National Army who trained and served with U.S. Special Forces," among others.
Advocates, such as veteran Elizabeth Lynn, director of government affairs at the nonprofit evacuation organization Operation Recovery, are concerned about the developments. "It is as if the chaos of the withdrawal in 2021 continues and our allies are not just being left behind but dumped. Ending both Enduring Welcome and CARE places this administration at the epicenter of the chaos," Lynn said. "Essentially stranding our allies across the globe while potentially deporting them from the United States," is something Lynn said veterans and "people around the world will remember."
Multiple Afghans, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, explained the impact these decisions have had on them.
Ahmad, who has been waiting on a Priority-1 referral to the USRAP due to his work with the Ministry of Interior, has been living in Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar for nine months. He says that the elimination of CARE has increased his "stress and sadness" as "CARE was a vital source of support, hope, and guidance for us during such a difficult time." Ahmad reports that camp life "has become more unstable" as families have "started to lose hope about relocating to the U.S."
"Personally, my 206 bones have pain from inside," Ahmad said, though he said he tries "to hold on to hope."
Feroza said that "living in Afghanistan is [a] nightmare as a girl who worked with USA government [sic]." Though it feels that "they left us behind and totally forget us [sic]," she implores the U.S. to relocate its allies to countries friendly to Afghan women if it will not help them directly.
Masud says that his "adorable" son perished of cerebral palsy while he underwent USRAP processing in Pakistan because he "wasn't able to help him with proper medical care and treatment due to our refugee status" and a lack of funds. Awaiting word about the USRAP, Masud says he is "devastated."
Nasir, another USRAP applicant, says he faced "extremely difficult conditions" once he made the difficult decision to relocate to Pakistan on the U.S. government's advice after working for several years on projects supported by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
After selling his Kabul home "for half its value," Nasir says he "faced three years of hardship and instability," including a lack of employment and education for his two children, and a "constant fear of deportation." Though his case was in its final stages and he was set to travel to the U.S. within two weeks of the January suspension of USRAP, Nasir says he is now "trapped in limbo."
