Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump to exempt them from an order suspending refugee relocation

Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support US troops.

 An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when US troops pulled out of the country after two decades. They want to resettle in the US via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the US government, media, aid agencies and rights groups.

But in his first days in office, Trump's administration announced the US Refugee Admissions Program would be suspended from Jan. 27 for at least three months. During that period, the White House said that the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president whether the resumption of the program is in the US interest.

"Many of us risked our lives to support the US mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders, and allies," an advocacy group called Afghan USRAP Refugees - named after the US refugee program - said in an open letter to Trump, members of Congress and human rights defenders.

"The Taliban regards us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death," the group said. "In Pakistan, the situation is increasingly untenable. Arbitrary arrests, deportations, and insecurity compound our distress."

Hadisa Bibi, a former student in Kabul who fled to neighboring Pakistan last month, said she read in newspapers that Trump suspended the refugee program.

"Prior to restrictions on women's education in Afghanistan, I was a university student," she said. "Given the risks I face as a women's rights advocate, I was hoping for a swift resettlement to the United States. This would not only allow me to continue my higher education but also offer a safer and brighter future."

She said she witnessed several Afghans arrested by Pakistani police, which left her in fear, "confined to my room like a prisoner."

According to the Afghan USRAP Refugees group, flights to the US for many Afghans had been scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organization for Migration and US Embassy officials.

"We seek the reversal of the ban on the refugee program on humanitarian ground," said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who was hoping to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all interviews and medical tests.