Monday Morning Update -- May 19, 2025
Last week was, yet again, packed full of critical developments – unfortunately none very positive. More details below.
This week, Secretary Rubio will be before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) regarding the State Department’s Budget for the upcoming year. We are hopeful that there will be some questions asked by members of congress about Enduring Welcome, CARE, and more issues related to our wartime allies.
What to amplify
I went onto Scripps News and CBS News to discuss the breaking news that DHS has rescinded TPS, and even issued a challenge to Secretary Noem. She hasn’t yet responded.
HFAC Chairman Brian Mast is a passionate advocate for our allies and the reprisals they face if they return, let’s remind him where he stood back in 2024 ahead of this week’s hearing and encourage him to ask about our issues
If you are interested in learning more about the vetting our allies undergo before coming here, please visit afghanevac.org/vetting
TPS Update
On Monday, May 12th, under the direction of Secretary Noem, DHS announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans. DHS determined that Afghanistan no longer meets the criteria for qualification for TPS due to its “improved security and economy”, a statement which is not rooted in truth and ignores the reality on the ground. Human rights violations have only worsened, restrictions on women have increased, and those Afghans who have already been granted refuge in the United States would be in certain danger were they to be required to return.
The notice to terminate TPS for Afghans was filed with the Federal Registry on May 12th, which means the decision would go into effect on July 14, 2025. The termination of this program will impact 11,700 Afghans, many of whom fled Taliban rule and helped U.S. forces and who will now lose any legal protection enabling them to remain here. This determination is unconscionable, and AfghanEvac’s members and partners will fight this with every tool we have: in the courts, in Congress, and in the public square.
Major setback in Pacito vs Trump
Then on Thursday, May 15th, a U.S. District Court rescinded its earlier May 5th order in the Pacito vs Trump case which required the Trump administration to comply with previous orders to process and provide resettlement support to refugees with conditional approval and booked travel. This new court order acknowledges the cases of only 160 individuals who had imminent travel plans as of January 20th of this year. For the nearly 12,000 other refugees who had cleared vetting, arranged flights, and trusted this country to follow through on its word, this new order required a case-by-case review – overseen by a not-yet-appointed Special Master – thrusting vulnerable individuals back into limbo once more. AfghanEvac has called on Congress to step up and use what powers it has – oversight, legislation, and appropriations – to right this grievous wrong and ensure that these refugees are protected.
What else happened last week
Jason Crow, Zach Nunn, Scott Peters, and a total of 106 Representatives penned a letter to the appropriations committee asking for 20,000 Afghan SIVs in letter endorsed by AfghanEvac, AMVETs, and more
The White House pushed (and succeeded) in removing SNAP benefits from refugees, asylees, and parolees in the upcoming budget bill.
What to look for this week
Secretary Rubio before SFRC on Tuesday and HFAC on Wednesday. Many of you may remember when some of our fellow AfghanEvac coalition members joined now Chairman Brian Mast at an HFAC roundtable on Taliban Reprisals just last year, so we suspect he may have some questions for Secretary Rubio about the idea that Afghanistan is safe now.
Afghan Support Center in San Diego this week at the Town and Country Hotel, Monday May 19 to Friday May 23. We will be presenting there on the current state of relocation and resettlement and we hope to see you there.
In the news
U.S. court rescinds decision to support relocation of thousands of Afghan refugees – Amu TV
What the end of Temporary Protected Status means for Afghans in the U.S.— NPR
Kristi Noem says Afghans can return safely under Taliban rule. Experts say that’s ‘patently obscene’ — Yahoo News
DHS to end deportation protections for Afghanistan - The Washington Post — Washington Post
White South Africans arrive at Dulles as refugees under Trump order — MSN
Trump administration ends protections from deportation for Afghans — Yahoo News
Many Afghans living in the U.S. fear being tortured or killed if they get deported — NPR
Trump’s plan to deport Afghan refugees is a national disgrace — MSNBC
An immigration scandal: White Afrikaners welcome, Afghan allies not — Bloomberg
Bay Area Afghans, Allies Decry Trump’s End of TPS: ‘They’re Terrified’ —
Editorial: White South Africans don’t deserve special refugee status — Dallas Morning News
Afghan refugee inspired by Pope Francis finds purpose helping migrants — CBS News
These brave Afghans helped the U.S. after 9/11. Now the U.S. wants to deport them — MSNBC
Enduring Welcome Policy update -- NO CHANGE FROM LAST 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.
There remain 1200 refugees trapped in Qatar at CARE Doha.
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 -- UPDATED
14161 — Still awaiting the report from State Dept to be sent to the White House
14163 — All refugee processing paused. April 20th was the deadline for report to White House from DHS, in consultation with State Dept. The report has gone over but we do not know what the recommendations were.
14169 — Foreign Aid pause caused shutdown of Enduring Welcome relocation flights. No indication on when those may restart, if ever. All resettlement contracts canceled but, if the administration adheres to court orders, many of those will have to be reinstated.
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 211,000 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 55,000 Afghans in Afghanistan are far enough along in vetting to be manifested or in the process of manifesting
There are 12,000 individuals in the “family reunification” category in Afghanistan alone, awaiting reunification with loved ones here in the US
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. There are about 1,000 other refugees also stuck in Doha.
About 200 American Citizens are still in Afghanistan, most of whom are waiting with family members in the relocation process.
Total SIV pipeline numbers
About 163,000 Afghans with Chief of Mission (COM) approval
Over 31,000 Principal Applicants
About 132,000 family members (called derivatives)
125,000 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 less than 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
Send a letter to your Member of Congress asking them to push back on the Trump Administration’s potential decision to shut down Enduring Welcome operations.
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 and use this one to look at our draft letter to them. Visit our website and share with your state and local representatives our draft resolution.
Forward this email to people you know need the information. If you know people who want to get this email but are currently not, send them to afghanevac.org/engage and we’ll get them signed up.
We will be watching closely this week to see whether the Trump Administration adheres to the court order and resumes processing for those refugees who already had conditional approval. As always, we will keep you updated as developments take place.
If you find these valuable, please make a donation to support our work atafghanevac.org/donate
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