WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to help Afghan nationals who have spent years detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after fleeing their homeland following the Taliban’s takeover. Trump, who has frequently criticized refugee admissions in the U.S., had suspended the refugee resettlement program at the beginning of his presidency. In April, his administration canceled a temporary protection program for thousands of Afghans in the U.S., putting 11,700 individuals at risk of being forced to leave the country. In a post on “Truth Social,” Trump stated regarding the detained Afghans: “I will try to save them; I have already started.” The UAE, a close security partner of the U.S., agreed in 2021 to temporarily house several thousand Afghans who were evacuated from Kabul during the collapse of the U.S.-backed government. Canada, in 2022, agreed to resettle nearly 1,000 Afghans still stranded in the UAE at the request of the U.S. However, it remains unclear how many individuals are still in detention there. The Biden administration relocated nearly 200,000 Afghans to the U.S. after the hurried withdrawal of American troops from Kabul. This group includes family members of Afghan-American soldiers, children allowed to reunite with parents, previously accepted Afghans’ relatives, and tens of thousands of individuals who collaborated with the U.S. government during the two-decade-long conflict.
- Advertisment -
