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Advocates for refugees to the U.S. filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration yesterday in federal court. They're trying to lift the administration's freeze on resettlement services for tens of thousands of legal refugees who were at various stages of coming to the U.S. Some of President Trump's allies have also taken issue with the freeze, especially with how it affects Afghan refugees who worked with the United States. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.
QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: One of President Trump's first executive orders, preloaded for Inauguration Day, suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Another executive order froze foreign aid, which includes help getting refugees resettled when they arrive in America. Melissa Keaney is with the International Refugee Assistance Project, which has filed a lawsuit to resume resettlement and aid.
MELISSA KEANEY: One of our clients is an Afghan peace activist who was evacuated from Kabul by the United States during the Taliban takeover, and his case, like so many others, has now frozen in the process.
LAWRENCE: Also on hold is Welcome Corps, a State Department program where Americans sponsor refugees to help them resettle in the U.S. Another plaintiff in the lawsuit, Keaney says, is an American woman who has joined Welcome Corps.
KEANEY: And she befriended a young Afghan woman here in the United States whose family remained in Afghanistan, and she organized her synagogue and community members to raise the money. She now is devastated, having made all these plans to welcome this family.
LAWRENCE: The lawsuit aims to help all refugees worldwide who are stranded by the White House order. But Afghans who had any connection with the U.S. government are in danger under the Taliban, especially if they helped out the U.S. military. And that's where they may also have an advantage, because some Republican supporters of President Trump want him to make an exception for Afghan allies. Here's Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, speaking to CBS's "Face The Nation."
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MICHAEL MCCAUL: And do I believe that it was an unintended consequence that needs to be fixed. Look, we promised them that we would protect them when they worked with our servicemen and women in Afghanistan. These are the interpreters, the ones who were right alongside our combat veterans.
LAWRENCE: Especially military veterans have voiced support for bringing Afghan allies to this country, including prominent Republicans like Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz. But so far, no exception has been announced, and tens of thousands of Afghan refugees wait anxiously to make their way to the United States.
Quil Lawrence, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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