U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that under current circumstances, no Afghan refugee is allowed to enter the United States, and Afghans residing in Qatar’s Al Sailiya camp will be resettled in other safe countries.
Rubio made these remarks on Tuesday during a meeting of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in response to a question from Senator Chris Coons. Coons expressed concern about the fate of Afghan refugees in the Al-Sailiya camp in Qatar, stating that approximately 1,100 former Afghan partners, 400 children, and 150 family members of U.S. military personnel still face an uncertain future.
He warned that these individuals could be sent back to Afghanistan or relocated to countries facing various challenges.
Coons urged Rubio to work with Congress to facilitate the transfer of these individuals especially the family members of U.S. service members to the United States. However, Rubio said he could not make such a commitment.
The U.S. Secretary of State added that following last year’s attack on National Guard personnel, an executive order was issued, and as a result, no Afghan is currently permitted to enter the United States.
He said Washington has held discussions with several countries regarding the acceptance of Afghan refugees, but so far no country has expressed willingness to accept all of them.
Rubio assured Chris Coons that he would cooperate in finding suitable destinations for these Afghans.
It is worth noting that following last year’s attack on U.S. forces in Washington, the administration of Donald Trump further tightened restrictions on the travel and admission of Afghans to the United States. Trump later signed an executive order banning the entry of citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, into the United States.
Meanwhile, U.S. media have reported that the Trump administration is considering a plan under which some Afghan refugees currently residing in Qatar would be relocated to another country. The proposal has faced widespread criticism, and more than 600 former U.S. civilian and military officials have urged Marco Rubio to abandon the plan.
For his part, Chris Coons criticized the current restrictive U.S. immigration policies, stating that immigrants who entered the United States through legal programs had undergone rigorous security screening and had made significant contributions to the country’s growth and development.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
