Monday Morning Update -- June 23, 2025
Another wild week in our work. We’ve seen detentions of our allies across the country, a total lack of communication to Afghans in the care of the U.S. government about what their future holds, and more.
We have a big announcement coming this week, so watch your email and our social media if you are a veteran who wants to take action to help our allies who have made it here but are being targeted by federal law enforcement.
What happened last week
State Department is removing Afghans from U.S. government lodging in Kabul and Pakistan on a regular basis; is not communicating with those at CAS; is not providing guidance to DS-4317 (family reunification) cases regarding the status of their cases and what to expect moving forward. This is NOT because CARE is holding something back – but because the State Department leadership team is not communicating with CARE about current or future operations.
CARE contract positions are being eliminated and there continues to be no guidance from the 7th floor as to what functions will remain and where they’ll be housed.
Last week, AfghanEvac spoke with a group of Afghans currently trapped at CAS in Doha and they are worried about what their future holds. Those worries are being exacerbated by overwhelming fear about the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, especially given the news that the United States has entered the war and Iran’s threat to target U.S. facilities in the Middle East.
We wrote a letter to CARE and NVC asking for transparent, updated communications to all Afghans in the Enduring Welcome pipeline, including those on CAS and those still in Afghanistan.
New Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs nominated - Mora Namder, who previously served in an acting capacity for the last month of the first Trump administration. Learn more about her.
We had a press conference and congressional briefing on San Diego asylum detainee, Sayed Naser Noori, who was detained by ICE after appearing for his initial immigration hearing, as required. We also wrote a letter to Secretary Noem Sayed’s detention
The U.N. released a report this week which entitled “Afghan women face near total social, economic and political exclusion” highlighting the dire straits faced by women in Afghanistan.
What to be aware of
This is theoretically the final week of CARE in its current form, as the State Department transmitted a Congressional Notice to the Hill at the end of May stating that the office would close on July 1st. CARE hopes to learn more about what the State Department reorganization means for them, as no clear guidance has yet been shared.
The numbers haven’t changed since the last time we sent them. 212,000 in Afghanistan, including 12,000 family reunifications, 3000 military family members. There are 32,000 Chief of Mission approved principal applicant SIVs (167,000 with family members) but only about 9,000 visas remain.
What we’re reading
Afghan ally detained by ICE after attending immigration court hearing – CBS News
Advocates say an Afghan refugee was detained at San Diego immigration court – KPBS News
Abandoning our Afghan allies is a moral and strategic mistake – The Hill
Detained Afghan’s legal entry into U.S. was ‘improvident,’ government argues – Times of San Diego
Afghan who helped U.S. military arrested by ICE after routine immigration hearing – NPR
VIDEO: Masked ICE Agents Arrest Afghan Ally Following Immigration Court Hearing – REASON
Afghan Ally Who Aided the US Military Caught in Trump’s Immigration Dragnet – Military.com
Afghans in the US have lost protected status. What happens now? – NPR Consider This
What you can do
Donate – We’re on the frontlines of this fight and we need resources to keep going. Please visit afghanevac.org/donate and invest today.
Stand with Sayed – Send a letter to your Congressional representatives asking them to speak out against the detention of Sayed and other Afghan allies. This link provides you with a template where you can fill in your own details and you can look up your elected officials on our website.
Stay Tuned – for a big announcement later this week about more direct action to support Afghan allies in their immigration process here.
So much remains unknown about what will happen next – and we know that’s both frustrating and unsettling. There simply isn’t a great outlook as of now but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to keep fighting, shoulder-to-shoulder.