Monday Morning Update -- October 20, 2025

IOM loans restarted, Taliban reprisals, AfghanEvac in London, and Battle Buddies

Good morning,

This week we have a lot to cover, including information about the restart of IOM loans for approved SIV holders, stories of Taliban reprisals against Afghan allies, a recap of a very productive AfghanEvac trip to London, info about Afghans detained in the U.S. and more on Battle Buddies.

But before we get to that, I wanted to share this throwback video from the holiday season in 2023. Things are awful at the moment, but remember that the work we all do together is meaningful and noticed by those in government.

IOM Loans Restart

IOM (The International Organization for Migration) announced last week that RSC MENA, the Resettlement Support Center for the Middle East and North Africa, have restarted processing for some SIV cases and that travel loans for approved SIV holders will be available again.

The announcement said: “RSC MENA is processing certain cases as instructed by the U.S. government and in accordance with the Department of State’s obligations under relevant court orders in Pacito v. Trump, 2:25-cv-255, (W.D. Wash.) and Pacito v. Trump, 25-1313 (9th Cir.).” Read more here: https://app.jordan.iom.int/refinfo/

We welcome this long overdue resumption of U.S. government support for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) flight loans through the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It is important to clarify what this development means — and what it does not:

• These are not flights from Afghanistan. IOM flight support applies only once a visa has been approved and printed into a passport, and for individuals located outside Afghanistan. Relocation flights from within Afghanistan remain halted.

• This support is for SIV holders only. Refugee pathways (P-1, P-2, P-3) remain excluded from the resumption of IOM flight services.

• Family reunifications for asylees and refugees remain paused.

You can read AfghanEvac’s full statement HERE.

Reprisal stories

Two major outlets ran stories this week detailing reprisal killings by the Taliban against Afghan allies who worked alongside the allied mission in Afghanistan over the course of twenty years. Both Military Times and The Independent ran separate articles based on extensive analysis and a resulting report released by Lighthouse Reports which found that at least 110 Afghans who served alongside U.S. or UK troops in Afghanistan have been murdered by the Taliban in targeted killings.

We know that the U.S. government has simply taken too long to keep the promises we made to our allies there – and under this Administration has simply stopped relocation flights, suspended all refugee processing, and created additional barriers that have slowed SIV relocation and resettlement to a trickle. We learned this week in our trip to the UK that similar barriers exist for Afghans with a pathway to that country.

We will continue to call on both governments to do more to enable the safe and timely relocation of our wartime allies to prevent further reprisal killings by the Taliban against those individuals who stood up for democracy alongside our service members.

AfghanEvac UK Trip

Last week, AfghanEvac leadership took a trip to London to meet with a variety of our UK counterparts involved in Afghan relocation and resettlement, including folks from NGOs, academia, the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, and the UK Home Office.

We learned a great deal about the UK’s various Afghan relocation and resettlement schemes: ARAP, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy; ACRS, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and the ARR, the Afghanistan Response Route. About 38,700 Afghans have been resettled in the UK and while they have closed down their resettlement programs to new applicants, existing applications are still being processed. As in the US, there is more to be done to address public understanding and sentiment, overcome barriers created by housing availability, and ensure that resettlement goes smoothly.

It was an incredibly productive week – and one we hope lays a foundation for long-term collaboration and partnerships with both UK civil society and government on our shared mission to support wartime allies and locally employed staff.

Afghans Detained in the U.S.

We also want to highlight a powerful article in the Washington Post this week that described the story of H, an Afghan ally who came here on humanitarian parole in the chaotic 2021 evacuation after working with a U.S.-based nonprofit, and who is now in detention in Virginia. H is at risk of being sent back to Afghanistan to face near-certain death at the hands of the Taliban. In the article, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin calls H “an illegal”, but goes on to acknowledge that he is only here illegally because the Department of Homeland Security revoked his parole – which provided him with legal status – when they arrested him.

We’ve seen this happen multiple times now, including to Sayed, who was the inspiration for Battle Buddies. Looking at this story in conjunction with the reports of Taliban reprisal killings in Afghanistan, it becomes even more clear that we must stand up and stand with those Afghans who have made it to the U.S. already, but face potential deportation because of policy decisions made by the Trump Administration.

There are more Battle Buddies actions coming up this week, including one in Northern Virginia tomorrow that I will be attending. If you’re not signed up to be a Battle Buddy yet, you can do so here: https://afghanevac.org/battle-buddies

We will continue to stand in solidarity with Afghans here as they progress in their immigration journeys – and we will continue to push back on U.S. government overreach and the unlawful detention of our wartime allies.

The Future of AfghanEvac

As we look forward to the forthcoming release of AfghanEvac’s Impact Report detailing our accomplishments and achievements over the last four years, we are also looking at the organization’s future. Until now, AfghanEvac has been an entirely volunteer-based effort: neither I nor anyone else involved in running this organization has ever been paid for that work. However, the urgency and scale of our work have only increased in the nine months since the Administration change, and that volunteer-based model has become unsustainable.

In order to continue this work at the pace and scale it requires, we know we need to fund AfghanEvac – now and for the next few years. Our goal is to raise $500,000 by the end of 2025 to maintain our advocacy efforts, communication initiatives, and direct action efforts.

Please consider making a donation to help us continue our critical work.

This funding is not just about maintaining operations—it’s about scaling our response to meet an unprecedented crisis.

What We’re Reading

• Refugee groups slam alleged Trump plan to give preference to white English speakers: ‘Unconscionable betrayal’ – The Independent

• Afghan Allies Challenge Unlawful Policy Blocking Them From SIV Program – IRAP

• Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years – AP

• ICE Confirms Third Custody Death in 12 Days – Newsweek

• He supported the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Now he may be deported to the Taliban – WaPo

• Despite Taliban amnesty declaration, killings of US allies persist – Military Times

This was a dense week with lots to report, so if you’ve made it this far, thank you. We will keep plugging away at this work, and we’re grateful for the continued support of so many people across the country and around the world.