Afghan Christians Could Be Forced to Leave US, Pause in Refugee Program Leaves Thousands in Limbo

Religious groups are standing up for Afghan Christians who could be forced to leave the U.S.  They're calling on the Trump administration to let roughly 300 Christians from Afghanistan stay here.

The administration is seeking to curtail the use of the "temporary protected status" program that protects some refugees from being returned to their home countries if they face danger. Christians in Afghanistan face harsh persecution, including death.

In one North Carolina church, 22 members who are Afghan Christians have already lost their legal status, according to World magazine.

Meanwhile, a number of refugee resettlement groups are scrambling to assist refugees seeking safety and protection in the U.S. Many of them are Afghans who helped the U.S. military during the war there and had already been approved to come to America.

PHOTO: In August of 2021, thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto an American military jet as it took off and fell to their deaths. (Verified UGC via AP)

In January, the Trump administration issued a 90-day pause in the refugee resettlement program. 

"Those allies supported the U.S. government and the U.S. military in the country, and there was a matter of trust, and I really trusted it, and they promised that they would be brought to safety," Mohammad Daad Serweri of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, also known as IRIS, told CBN News. "But if that door is closed right now, I don't think that anyone would trust the U.S."

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Serweri once worked as a language assistant to the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan.

Now trying to help others leave, Serweri admits it is heartbreaking how his fellow countrymen have been abandoned after being promised entry to the U.S.

"I not only know there are Afghan allies that are stuck in Afghanistan and they are living in a very, very risky situation under the brutal group that we fought for twenty years there," he said.

Several agencies have filed suit against the administration over the pause in the refugee resettlement program, leading a federal judge to issue an injunction back in March, saying the executive branch does not have "boundless" discretion to suspend refugee admissions.

The Trump administration later terminated contracts with several resettlement groups. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead then ordered the government to produce a status report on whether it has restarted the resettlement program per his court order. 

After reaching out to the State Department about its Afghan relocation program, CBN News received the following statement: 

"At this time, no final decisions have been made. The department has paused all U.S. government relocation flights from Kabul to third-country processing platforms for Afghan refugee and Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) applicants until further notice. CARE continues to provide life-sustaining support to Afghan allies and partners previously relocated to our overseas case processing platforms."

Since 1982, IRIS has helped to resettle people from Afghanistan, Somalia, and other dangerous places. The group recently lost four million dollars in government funding when the Trump administration cancelled its contract to assist 800 families.

Maggie Salem, the group's executive director, told CBN News, "A lot of folks would understandably not think about the families of these allies. Those families, even extended families, are at risk."

Shawn Vandiver, founder of AfghanEvac, a veteran-led non-profit, says the U.S. could never have accomplished its mission without the support of Afghan allies -- work that put many of them at risk from the Taliban.

"Without the help of local staff and local resources, we would've lost scores more American lives," Vandiver explained. "These people saved us. These people protected us. These people believed us."

The pause in the U.S. refugee resettlement program has stalled flights from Afghanistan for some 40,000 Afghans already approved for special immigrant visas.

Vandiver points out that many wanting to resettle in the U.S. have already gone through extensive vetting through the Enduring Welcome program.

"Enduring Welcome has taken it all the way back to Afghanistan, where they do all this vetting before they get to a third country, and then they go to a third country. They get a whole bunch more vetting. And then before they come here, they get a whole bunch more vetting. And then once they arrive here, they get a whole bunch more vetting," said Vandiver.

Meanwhile, Salem and Serweri say those seeking to resettle here have much to offer America.

"The story of America is the story of people bootstrapping," said Salem. "If they came as an engineer or a doctor or a nurse or a carpenter, they want to be using those skills here, and we need them to."

"I really hope that the administration will review, revisit this program, and reconsider their strategies so hopefully they can come to the safety," said Serweri.