April 14, 2025 -- AfghanEvac Monday Morning Update
April 14, 2025
A lot happened last week -- I was in D.C. for several days talking with Congressional supporters, both Republicans and Democrats, about how critical it is to reopen Enduring Welcome. I’ve also included a couple of resources the last administration’s USCIS team put together before they left to ensure Afghans understand ways to access legal pathways.
What happened last week
The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) held its first full committee mark-up on Wednesday, April 9th.
The committee sent a bill, H.R. 260, sponsored by Rep Tim Burchett, to the House Floor. This bill, called "No Tax Dollars for Terrorists" seeks to oppose financial and material support from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
Several amendments were added by Rep Meeks (Amend 22); Rep Keating (Amend 16); Rep Kamlager Dove (Amend 1); and Rep Julie Johnson (Amend 2).
AfghanEvac had several discussions with Members of Congress, including Chairman Mast, Ranking Member Meeks, and Reps Issa, Peters, Mills, Jacobs, Lawler, Kamlager Dove, and more.
The Trump Administration ended funding to the U.N. World Food Program last week, and while some of those cutoffs were since reversed, those for Afghanistan and Yemen were kept in place. This refusal to restore aid to two of the poorest countries in the world will be a death sentence for those populations.
The Trump Administration sent notices of termination to anyone who entered the United States through the southern border using CBP One. We’ve heard through primary sources that some who arrived during OAW received these notices as well. We understand that those may have been erroneous and have called on DHS to clarify validity for those who received notices.
They also terminated TPS for Afghan nationals.
Please make sure you are encouraging anyone impacted to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.
What to look for this week
CARE contracts remain in place for now but there are rumors that stop payment orders went out. We will continue to monitor that situation and will, of course, ensure that anything we learn, we share with you.
Pakistan deportations of Afghans have started, and thousands of Afghans have already left the country, either by force or choice. While refugee processing remains paused, SIVs are still being adjudicated in Pakistan.
What we’re reading
Pakistan's Deportation Drive Sees Mass Exodus of Afghans Ahead of Deadline -- Radio Free Europe
Millions of Afghans will be abandoned to famine thanks to Trump's aid cuts, warns UN -- The Independent
Trump Administration Cuts Aid Program It Had Promised to Keep -- New York Times
The U.S. Ends Lifesaving Food Aid for Millions. The World Food Program calls it a 'Death Sentence' -- Associated Press
Trump administration ends temporary protected status for thousands of Afghans – NPR
DHS revokes parole for hundreds of thousands who entered via the CBP One app – Politico
Enduring Welcome Policy update
Enduring Welcome relocation flights remain paused
Refugee processing and travel remains paused
SIVs can still self-fund or be sponsored through private orgs, but there remains no government support for their relocation or funding for resettlement upon arrival.
CARE Doha is now open for self-funded travel now that Eid has passed.
CARE Albania has no more flight-ready eligible travelers, and CARE Doha has very few remaining. That’s thanks to the incredible efforts of the CARE staff and Afghan Allies Safe Arrival team (AfghanEvac, Task Force Argo, Community Sponsorship Hub), Keeping Our Promise, No One Left Behind, and others—who stepped up to help hundreds get to safety.
If you know someone with a valid U.S. visa, IN AFGHANISTAN OR ANY THIRD COUNTRY, they can register for support at afghanevac.org/self-depart. This form also works for folks who arrived to the U.S. on their own but did not set up sponsorship before arrival and now need assistance to get settled.
Executive Orders -- NO CHANGE FROM LAST UPDATE
14161 — Still awaiting the report from State Dept to be sent to the White House
14163 — All refugee processing paused. April 20th deadline for report to White House from DHS, in consultation with State Dept.
14169 — Foreign Aid pause caused shutdown of Enduring Welcome relocation flights. No indication on when those may restart, if ever.
By the numbers
The numbers below have been verified by us and are based on official U.S. government numbers. If you are seeing other numbers elsewhere, they are dated and incorrect.
CARE Pipeline (Refugees and SIVs)
Over 200,000 Afghans identified in the CARE pipeline in Afghanistan
Of this number, about 50,000 are in the USRAP category, the rest are consular track (SIV/IV/etc)
Over 50,000 Afghans outside of Afghanistan in the CARE pipeline
Of this number, about 25,000 are in the USRAP category, the rest are consular track (SIV/IV/etc)
More than 50,000 Afghans in Afghanistan are far enough along in vetting to be manifested or in the process of manifesting
3,000 individuals are family of active duty U.S. military, trapped because they are in the USRAP pipeline. 200 of those are in Qatar, trapped on the U.S. Government facility with no pathway to safety.
More than 200 American Citizens are trapped in Afghanistan and have no safe way out because CARE operations have ceased.
Total SIV pipeline numbers
About 156,000 Afghans with Chief of Mission (COM) approval
Nearly 30,000 Principal Applicants
About 126,000 family members (called derivatives)
118,000 of those with Chief of Mission Approval are "Interview Ready"
About 50,000 Applicants are at the Chief of Mission stage for approval.
There are 1,000 Chief of Mission decisions happening every week, with about 30% of those decisions being approvals.
There are about 10,000 principal applicant visas remaining before we reach the congressionally mandated cap.
We need somewhere between 40-50k more to meet the demand.
What you can do to help
If you are a veteran — sign onto our Open Letter. Please pass this around your networks and ask for folks to sign on. We already have about 230 signatures, 57% of which are Republicans or Independents and 43% are Democrats
Record a short video with your name, your political affiliation or how you lean (conservative or liberal), what this means to you, and why you appreciate that this has been a bipartisan effort. Send that video (the file) to contact@afghanevac.org and we'll post it on our socials!
Donate to AfghanEvac. Ongoing advocacy and information sharing is more critical now than ever. Thank you to everyone who has already given. If you haven’t, or if you’re moved to contribute more, please visit afghanevac.org/donate or contact us to plan an event in your area.
Call and email your elected officials and ask them to take action - use that link to look up who your reps are. Visit our website and share with your state and local representatives our draft resolution.
Dates to watch
April 20th — Deadline for report related to USRAP Executive Order (EO14163)
I hope you find these updates helpful. As always, please make sure to pass on anything you're hearing that may benefit our allies or the groups across the country working on this. Thanks again and I hope to talk to you soon.