The State Department’s refugee resettlement program remains frozen, despite court orders that the administration resettle refugees who were vetted and approved before the halt.
At the same time, this week the administration officially ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans in the U.S., effective July 12.
“The Refugee Admissions Program strengthens our security, economy and leadership in the world, and we look forward to the administration restarting it,” said Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. “Resettlement reinforces the principle that through well-vetted, orderly pathways, the United States is a welcoming nation that offers protection and refuge to people who face persecution.”
“We also call on Congress to find long-term immigration solutions, including those that allow our Afghan allies to remain safe and thrive in the United States. Our national security, not to mention our values, demands that we protect those who have fought beside us and who face danger in their country of origin.”
Last month, the Council on National Security and Immigration urged the administration to reconsider what was then a preliminary decision to end TPS for Afghans “and uphold our moral and strategic obligations to Afghan allies.”
And earlier this month, Christian leaders sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with a specific focus. “It is critical that our nation continue to provide refuge to those whose lives are at risk because of their faith, including Afghan Christians,” they wrote — a message Bryant Wright, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, underscored this week in a Fox News op-ed.