Several veterans groups sent a letter to the president Donald Trump On Thursday, he urged him to reconsider a recent executive order related to immigration and refugee programs, citing concerns about the safety of Afghan interpreters and their families who have assisted the U.S. military.
AND executive orderRealignment of the United States’ refugee program will take effect on Monday and suspend the US Refugee Readmission Program (USRAP).
Trump’s order immediately halts all processing and movement of USRAP refugees, who are referred because of threats to their ties to the US – such as family members of service members and Afghan partner forces.
Special Immigrant Visas (SIVS), people who directly worked for or supported the US government – which include interpreters and contractors – did not appear to be directly affected.
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President Donald Trump signs a series of executive orders at the White House on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
They could, however, be indirectly affected by implementation decisions or additional orders, according to #Afghanevac, a nonprofit organization that helps facilitate the resettlement and resettlement of U.S. Afghan allies.
Veterans groups wanted to highlight the “unintended consequences” of the order, arguing it could negatively affect the mental health of countless veterans.
The letter, obtained by Fox News, discussed many of the bonds Members of the service and veterans formed with Afghan partners supporting the global war on terror, often at great personal risk to themselves and their families.
“The current suspension of certain pathways for these allies may inadvertently penalize individuals who might be eligible for special Immigrant visas (SIVS), but are not currently being held – not because they do not meet the qualifications, but because of the chaotic and disorganized nature of the withdrawal from Afghanistan under the previous administration,” the letter said.
The Taliban hold a military parade with equipment captured from the US military in Kandahar, Afghanistan on November 8, 2021. (Murteza Khaliqi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The groups said they “fully support” Trump’s goal of prioritizing US security, but believe there is a clear opportunity to resolve the issue without harming Afghan partners.
The executive order claims that the entry of additional refugees would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States,” but notes that the secretaries of state and the secretary of homeland security can jointly make exceptions and admit refugees in cases where it is in the national interest and there is no threat to American security or well-being.
Noting the concern over Afghan partners Because they are “wrong”, the groups said, immediate family members of partners, who face serious threats from the Taliban, may lose hope of safe passage.
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They asked the president to consider SIV-eligible allies and their families to prevent them from being “involuntarily sidelined due to the omissions that occurred in the delayed withdrawal,” the letter said.
“This approach would protect those who have risked their lives for our country while reinforcing your administration’s clear commitment to national security,” they wrote.
USRAP has no impact on illegal immigration, according to #Afghanevac. Refugees must be screened before entering the US, and crossing the border without authorization voids their eligibility.
Chad Robichaux, a US Marine Corps veteran and Department of Defense contractor, told Fox News that he spent years protecting American lives domestically and internationally, but it wasn’t just US service members who made the sacrifice.
Taliban fighters patrol a road during celebrations marking the second anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, August 15. (AP/Abdul Khaliq)
“Afghan interpreters have risked their lives for two decades alongside us to defeat the evils of the Taliban,” Robichaux said. “When Afghanistan fell, I personally went to rescue my interpreter Aziz from the grip of that very evil, delivering him to American soil. President Trump is honorably taking strong steps to keep this trained soil safe. [it] puts those same Afghans at risk. These Afghan allies have shown more patriotic courage than some of our citizens, and I ask for their due protection amid these great security measures. “
The suspension effectively leaves thousands of Afghan allies stranded in limbo, according to #Afghanevac. The organization claims that at least 10,000 to 15,000 individuals have been fully vetted and are awaiting flights in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.
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Groups that signed the letter include: Save Our Allies; Answer of the sheep; Verardo Group; Independence Fund; Diesel Jack Media; American Special Operations Association; and the Mighty Oaks Foundation.
Tim Kennedy – Green Beret, former UFC fighter, founder of SheepDog Response, and president of Savet Our Alliance – told Fox News that it is the duty of the state to protect its allies.
“I have served with the most heroic heroes our nation has to offer. I have watched them shine and bravely sacrifice life and limb to protect the United States,” Kennedy said. “Among those patriots are the people of Afghanistan who risked the threat and brutality of the Taliban to defend the freedom and American ideals we hold dear.”
Tim Kennedy during the UFC 206 weigh-ins at the Air Canada Centre. (Tom Szczerbowski-USA Today Sports)
There are still 150,000 to 250,000 Afghans seeking settlement, according to #Afghanvac. An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 refugees are under USRAP.
“The Biden administration is responsible for our blood-soaked exit from Afghanistan,” Kennedy said. “The allies we served did not get the promise we offered them. I applaud the necessary and exemplary efforts President Trump is making to secure our country from foreign threats, but it is our duty to protect and preserve the sanctity of our promise to those Afghan allies.
Since the end of the war in 2021, about 180,000 Afghans have been resettled in the US, Fox News Digital reported.
Many of those still awaiting refugee approval are in hiding in Pakistan,, In fear of being deported back to Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden at the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Cenet)
Daniel Elkins, executive director of the American Special Operations Association, said he was “sure there would be more Americans at Arlington Cemetery if it weren’t for the Afghans who risked their lives to help us, and now is the time to help them.”
Ambassador Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News that he looks forward to continuing to work with Savet Our Allies as they advocate for all of former President Joe Biden’s Afghan allies “forsaken.”
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“Unlike President Biden who consistently rejected pleas from veterans and service members to help his Afghan allies, President Trump cares about America’s veterans and service members and will listen to them,” McCaul said.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment Thursday night.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this story.
