Trump officials consider sending 1,100 Afghans who aided US forces to Congo | Trump administration
The Trump administration is in talks to potentially send as many as 1,100 Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a nonprofit organization confirmed Tuesday.
Resettlement negotiations first reported by the New York TimesIt follows Donald Trump’s decision to halt an initiative that would have allowed Afghans helping the US war effort to apply to resettle in the US.
It is reported that this group of more than 1,000 Afghans who were ambushed in Qatar for a year included relatives of US military members, as well as interpreters. The group also includes more than 400 children.
Accordingly TimesThe US evacuated these Afghans to Qatar for protection because they supported US military efforts in their home country, which has once again been under Taliban control since the US military’s withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the DRC faces a massive displacement crisis after decades of conflict and instability. According to the UN Refugee AgencyAs of September 2025, 8.2 million people have been displaced and this number is expected to reach 9 million by the end of the year.
Shawn VanDiver, president of the non-profit AfghanEvac, told the Guardian he had heard these arguments from people in and around the US State Department.
Of the 1,100 Afghans in Qatar, 900 are eligible to settle in the United States, VanDiver said. For the 200 ineligible people, the United States could talk to countries outside the violence-shaken Democratic Republic of Congo about accepting them.
“The others should come here,” VanDiver said. “It’s an easy solution: ‘Hey, welcome to America.’” VanDiver said 100 to 150 of those Afghans were family members of active-duty soldiers, while more than 700 were women and children.
“This is crazy; this could all be fixed with just a policy change,” VanDiver said, saying the Department of Homeland Security could allow Afghans who already qualify for the program. “They can come here; there’s no law stopping them.”
It is also possible that the DRC talks will not lead to real resettlement, leaving this Afghan group in an even more uncertain situation. VanDiver said returning to Afghanistan would likely result in death, given the cooperation with U.S. forces.
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson said they were continuing to identify options for the voluntary resettlement of Afghans currently living at Camp As-Sayliyah (CAS) in Qatar, claiming that relocating this group “to a third country is a positive solution for their safety and that of the Americans.” “Afghan citizens in CAS do not currently have a valid route to the United States,” the spokesperson added.
The State Department said it was in routine, direct communication with camp residents about resettlement initiatives, but would not release details about the negotiations due to sensitivity.
