Monday Morning Update May 5, 2025
It’s been an intense few days across the AfghanEvac community—with high-level engagement at the Sedona Forum, evolving government responses to our letters, and important developments across the relocation landscape.
If there is one thing you do, please share this message from Jack McCain, who helped launch AfghanEvac in our earliest days. It’s up on all of our social media, so please choose whichever suits you the most between X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube. We encourage you to share across all platforms where you are active.
Remember -- You can always visit afghanevac.org/eo-crisis to refresh yourself on the current state of affairs.
What happened last week?
Last week we received a letter from USCIS in response to a series of communications we’ve sent their way, starting with our February 8th letter to Secretaries Rubio and Noem and a follow-up rebuttal to their initial assertion on Feb 15th that our original inquiry was not a USCIS matter. I’ve attached their response to this email and essentially it says that they can’t do anything to help Afghans because there is ongoing litigation related to the executive order pausing refugees.
We spent several days at the Sedona Forum where we spoke with leaders from across the political spectrum including current and former lawmakers, military leaders, and leaders from the corporate world and civil society. To a person, they reiterated support for our allies. Many committed to leveraging their influence to push on the administration and congress to continue and improve Enduring Welcome. Check our social media for videos from several of the leaders there voicing public support for our cause.
Many do not know that Jack McCain, Navy veteran and son of the late Senator Jack McCain, has been a part of AfghanEvac since the beginning. He recorded a message of support (mentioned above) for our allies and included a very direct call to action for House, Senate, and Executive Branch leaders. It’s available across all of our main social media platforms and on YouTube.
We’re seeing the FBI take action against letter writers, companies, and Afghans suspected of visa fraud. Let’s be clear: all immigration paperwork must be accurate and truthful—fraud is a crime, and law enforcement is responding accordingly. Importantly, the fraud in these cases has only succeeded because companies and individuals conspired to exploit the desperation of Afghans. It still is NOT possible for an Afghan to just submit fraudulent paperwork and get through because it MUST be verified by both a company and a recommender. AfghanEvac has always emphasized integrity and fully supports the prosecution of anyone who preys on Afghan allies for personal gain.
What we’re reading / watching
Veterans groups urge Trump admin to continue Afghan ally support program amid budget cut concerns – Fox News
He was tortured by the Taliban. Will he be sent back to Afghanistan? – NBC News
We must fight for our Afghan Allies – Bush Center
More Afghans notified their immigration status is at risk – The World News Group
Retired US military officers urge Trump to resume Afghan refugee program – Amu TV
These brave Afghans helped the U.S. after 9/11. Now the U.S. wants to deport them – MSNBC
Afghans were promised refuge after helping US soldiers. President Trump is not keeping the promise – Scripps News
He got a special visa for aiding the U.S. in Afghanistan. The FBI says his paperwork was fake – WXXI News
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.
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.
By the numbers - UPDATED
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 210,000 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.
Every week, the pace of this information seems to increase -- I hope these updates are helpful in aiding you all to keep track of what’s going on. As always, please pass this information on to anyone who you think would benefit from it. Thanks again and I hope to talk to you soon.