Trump is at odds with the old American military warriors on Afghan transfers Donald Trump News

Washington, DC, When Roche Belki arrived in the United States in September 2023, it was received by a federal re -resettlement agency that helped her launch a new life.

Balkhi, a 55 -year -old engineer, was one of the thousands of Afghans who worked alongside the American army during her two decades’ intervention.

But after the fall of the US -backed government in 2021, it became unsafe to stay in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Taliban.

So I left for the United States. During the first 90 days in the country, Balkhi received temporary housing, language lessons, basic commodities, mental health support and directions about her 15 -year -old son’s registration at a local school in Virginia.

However, when her husband, Mohamed Arif Manajal, arrived under the same visa program in January, these services were suddenly stopped. President Donald Trump has just opened, and the United States has stressed restrictions on federal funding and immigration.

Bachti said about the circumstances he faced: “This was completely opposite to my husband.”

Defenders say her family’s story shows how Trump’s vast executive orders may have repercussions even for support areas of both parties.

Veteran organizations have greatly supported efforts to bring Afghan citizens to safety in the United States, especially if they worked with the American forces or the US -backed government.

But in the first days of Trump’s second state, the government stopped the American Refugee Acceptance Program (USRAP), leaving some of the Afghan applicants who were separated abroad.

Stop an executive order, the latest external aid. This, in turn, had caused a break in the Special Immigrant visa program (SIV) for the Afghans who worked with the American army, such as Balkhi and her husband.

Bachti explained that her husband was more fortunate than most of them, given that he had a family already created in the United States. But she expressed her pain for those who enter the country without the same support system she received.

“Without the help of the resettlement agency, I do not think that we would have been able to stay,” she told Al -Jazeera Island in Dari, speaking through an translator provided by the Lutheran social services in the national capital area.

Some critics believe that the issue is a test of the strict Trump policies when its full effect becomes clear.

Balkhi said: “My request from the new government is that they do not forget their obligations towards Afghan allies and Afghan immigrants.”

“Early” early?

Trump’s campaign did not hide his desire to reform the immigration system in the United States, to repel what he criticized as a migrant “invasion”.

But his criticism of the American chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 raised hope among those who defend Afghan services participating in the US military.

“President Trump carried a group of things related to Afghanistan, especially how bad withdrawal,” Sean Vandever, founder of #AFGHANEVAC, an organization that supports Afghan resettlement.

“So I don’t think he will do that and then I am not trying to help our allies. I just hope this is a mistake.”

In the last attempt to re -election, Trump has repeatedly expressed their sympathy for those who fell in the withdrawal of the forces in August 2021, during which a suicide bombing of 13 US service members and 170 Afghans claimed.

Trump also criticized former US President Joe Biden for overseeing the incident, which he called the “Afghanistan disaster”. On the day before his inauguration, on January 19, Trump visited the grave of three soldiers who died during the withdrawal effort.

Vandever said Trump’s actions from here will be decisive. If his administration changes the path around Afghan resettlement, Vandiver sees this an optimistic sign.

“But if they did not change anything, well, you can leave to conclude it may mean that.”

Although Trump’s orders did not stop treatment under SIV, they have been subjected to a pipeline for those looking for relief under the program, which requires federal funding.

Earlier this month, 10 national organizations based on federal support to provide “reception and placement services” have received an order to stop work immediately – and do not incur any other costs.

Vandever explained that the freezing of the Ministry of Foreign Aid may destroy services to those who are waiting abroad in places such as Qatar and Albania, including medical care, food and legal support.

More importantly, Trump’s orders have reduced the financing of transport trips run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most of SIV beneficiaries relied on this transfer to the United States.

“The closure of these services is not just a discomfort,” Vandever said, referring to the sensitive living situations of many Afghans looking for safety. “The death penalty can be some of the most evacuated persons.”

Refugee suspension

SIV is not the only one who hinders the new Trump orders.

Refugee resettlement similarly has stopped. Under the previous US administration, Afghans who face persecution from the Taliban can apply for the transition under private refugee categories.

The P1 category was dedicated to the Afghans referred to by the American embassy, ​​while the P2 was available to those who worked with the American military or the US government programs or non -profit in the United States. The third category also allowed the unification of the family, for those who already have relatives in the United States.

All of these tracks were closed amid the broader comment of the American Refugee Program.

Kim employees, CEO of the War allies Association, said that individuals who are looking for a shelter through these programs should get the same urgent attention as SIV beneficiaries.

The employees said: “There are many people who helped us, who worked for the same goals there who are very dangerous, but they do not qualify to get SIV because they got such narrow requirements.”

She added that she expects the Trump administration to put more attention to Afghan refugees, given support from both parties.

“We have expected some challenges. What we did not expect is that these wide and flagrant strokes of temporary suspension and suspend the necessary programs.”

“It seems as if they had no knowledge or they didn’t take time to really think about the effects that will be in the direction of the entire river.”

Veteran support

Opinion polls have repeatedly showed widespread support for the resettlement of Afghans who supported American forces during the war in Afghanistan.

In September 2021, for example, a NPR survey and the IPSOS research company suggested that two thirds of our respondents supported deportations, and surpassed distant support for other groups looking for a shelter.

This high level of approval continued in the years. A poll from the October 2023 group of Honor found that 80 percent of the respondents indicate continuous support for Afghan resettlement.

The old American military warriors were at the forefront of transportation efforts. That demographic, although it is varied, usually distorts the province. About 61 percent supported Trump in the 2024 elections, according to the Pew Research Center.

Andrew Sullivan, head of call and government affairs that no one, a group of SIV preachers left, described support as “the issue of national honor and national security.”

It is definitely the issue of the veterans. “It was an issue from the two parties,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan was the veterans of the Afghanistan war himself, he worked closely with an Afghan translator when he was an infantry officer in the army. This translator – set by Sullivan only by the first name, Ahmadi – has since moved to the United States through the SIV program.

Sullivan said he was optimistic that Trump would create “points” for Afghans, pointing to the large number of veterans of the conflict in Afghanistan in the management of Republicans.

One of these ancient warriors, former Congress member Mike Waltz, has become a White House National Security Adviser to Trump. Waltz was previously pressuring former President Biden to “give our Afghan allies.”

Sullivan explained that he has repeatedly participated with the Fals on this issue, and left a sense of hope.

Sullivan said: “He understands this personal and visible level, to what extent does these people (ancient warriors) mean,” Sullivan said. “So I know that he gets it.”

“Screaming”

Other defenders, however, are the least hope. James Powers, a popular organizer of Ohio who focuses on the issues of old warriors, pointed to the role of immigration Stephen Miller in the new administration.

Miller served in the first Trump administration when SIV processing was slow to solutions.

“It is only logical that (the program) will stop screaming as soon as he returns to power to influence the current president,” said Powers.

Defenders are also concerned that the years of work to develop the current system are in danger.

Only last year, Congress passed a law with the support of the two parties that created a special office to coordinate and simplify SIV transfers.

Over the past four years, the Biden Administration has also sought to treat both SIVS and other Afghan refugee categories. The government of Biden 33341 SIVS in the fiscal year 2024 issued about three times the number issued in 2022, the first full fiscal year after withdrawing.

Afghan admission operations for refugees also increased from 1618 in the fiscal year 2022 to 14,708 in 2024.

Finally, more than 200,000 Afghans have been transferred to the United States since the withdrawal, including tens of thousands that were transported on evacuation trips in the wake of this.

“They have to do better,” said Powers of the Trump administration. “There are fair experts on both sides of the corridor, on all the ideological spectrum, which will tell them that there are better ways.”