Most Evacuated Afghans Were Not ‘Allies’
When their parole expires, then what?
By Nayla Rush on March 4, 2025
Many activists and lawmakers, from both parties, have been very critical of President Trump’s suspension of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement program and its repercussion for certain Afghan nationals who were hoping to come here. Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) claimed the pause resulted in “abandoning our Afghan allies”, while Rep. Michael Mc Caul (R-Texas) urged Trump to make an exception and “admit Afghan allies” during this refugee freeze. Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac (an organization advocating for the admission of Afghans and a “pathway to permanent residency” for Afghan evacuees), criticized Trump for leaving “our Afghan allies” to die.
Trump’s suspension of the refugee resettlement program has since been blocked by a judge. As things unfold and we monitor future Afghan arrivals, it is important to clarify matters upfront. Indeed, there is a confusion as to which Afghan nationals we have been welcoming ever since U.S. troops left Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. There is also a lot of misconceptions as to who exactly we are supposedly “leaving behind.”
Who exactly are we welcoming and why? Are they “allies” (Afghans who helped the U.S. government there), or refugees (those who fear persecution from the Taliban), or migrants (those who simply want to come to the United States)?
These questions are important because, with every answer, comes a specific admission status: Afghan “allies” are eligible to Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), “persecuted” Afghan can be admitted as refugees under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), and Afghan migrants are “paroled” in. Both SIVs and refugees are authorized to live permanently in the United States (SIVs are granted green cards upon admission, refugees, one year later), while parolees are supposed to be here temporarily.
https://cis.org/Rush/Most-Evacuated-Afghans-Were-Not-Allies
