Latest news with #VanDiver
Politico
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
State lays off more than 1,300 people as Rubio pledges more efficiency
At least one flier was posted in restrooms around the State Department urging remaining colleagues to 'resist fascism' and to 'remember the oath you vowed to uphold.' The general expectation had been that more than 2,000 State Department employees would get pink slips, including 750 foreign service officers. The lower number of staffers affected is likely attributable to the fact many State Department staff took advantage of a deferred resignation program. Overall, around 3,000 members of the workforce will be leaving, the memo said, suggesting more than 1,800 State Department employees opted to voluntarily depart. The bureaus hit hardest by the cuts included Energy Resources; Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and Population; Refugees and Migration; Consular Affairs. So too were offices managing foreign assistance programs. The Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations was also eliminated. But staff reductions also affected more management divisions than initially expected. Notices went out to staff in Diplomatic Technology, the Office of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services and the offices running the U.S. Foreign Service Internship Program and prestigious fellowships such as the Pickering. The Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, which is a congressionally mandated office, also saw layoffs. Shawn VanDiver, who leads the organization AfghanEvac and advocates for the resettlement of Afghan refugees who helped the U.S. during 20-year U.S. operations in the country, said State fired the current acting coordinator of the office. VanDiver noted that State must name a coordinator to comply with federal laws providing for the resettlement. Many employees who were pushed out were considered high performers or had specialized skills like speaking multiple difficult languages, according to a State Department staffer affected by the layoffs. That claim is backed up by the American Foreign Service Association, which represents foreign service officers and is arguing skills and languages were not accounted for in the staff cuts. That may be because the layoffs appeared partly based on which office the staffer was in, as opposed to their skills or work history. This has felt especially unfair to foreign service staffers, who rotate offices every few years. Ahead of the layoffs, Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called the move 'illegal' even after the Supreme Court greenlit the cuts. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Friday that cuts were made accounting for 'extensive feedback' and reiterated department leadership's commitment to the tens of thousands of employees who remain. In an X post, she also said the layoffs were necessary to 'make our work more efficient, nimble, and effective — making America safer, stronger and more prosperous.' At a 'clap out' for fired employees Friday afternoon, current State Department employees lined up outside the entrance to the Harry S. Truman building in Washington to salute their ex-colleagues. Employees, some in tears, trickled out of the building with boxes, tote bags and suitcases full of their office contents. One employee carried a sign saying 'Diplomacy Matters. Facts Matter.' Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and former State Department officials also held a rally Friday to protest the cuts. 'What is happening today with the layoffs of 1,300 patriotic public servants, weakens America. It makes us less safe,' Van Hollen said. 'This is America in retreat, and we don't want America retreating.' A version of this story previously appeared in POLITICO's National Security Daily newsletter. Like this content? Consider signing up!
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump issues travel ban, bars Afghans from entry into US
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday blocking Afghan nationals from entering the U.S., another blow to Afghan allies seeking refuge in a country that has provided fewer and fewer pathways for their safety. The order, which goes into effect June 9, will fully suspend immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for 12 locations the current administration said uses deficient vetting processes that jeopardize U.S. national security. 'The Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, controls Afghanistan,' the order read. 'Afghanistan lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.' The order also cited an Afghanistan business and tourist visa overstay rate of 9.7%, and a student, vocational and exchange visitor visa overstay rate of 29.3% as reasons for the ban. Afghan allies who helped the U.S. military during the Afghanistan War, as well as relatives of U.S. service members, are currently stranded in Afghanistan and fear for their lives due to Taliban retaliation, Military Times previously reported. Shawn VanDiver, CEO of the Afghan relocation advocacy group AfghanEvac, slammed the presidential directive in a publicly released statement. DHS ends deportation protections for Afghans 'The Trump administration's latest Executive Order may claim to be about national security — but make no mistake: this is a political stunt disguised as policy,' he said. 'It reinstates a sweeping ban on entry for Afghan nationals and others, while quietly dismantling the very systems that have kept our country safe.' Afghans who hold special immigrant visas are exempt from the ban, the order stated. VanDiver said the exception was 'really good news,' but at the same time, the recently announced termination of Operation Enduring Welcome and the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts office — the program and facilitator of Afghan relocation efforts — muddied that relief. 'The headline, 'Travel ban includes exemption for SIVs,' is the smoke,' VanDiver told Military Times over the phone. 'The fire is, 'Oh, by the way, we dismantled all the things that allow you to process, that allow you to relocate.'' VanDiver said he was concerned the closure of those resettlement mechanisms, which would affect nearly 300,000 Afghan nationals, would make it so that only SIV holders with wealth or connections would find their way to the U.S. 'That's not who we are as America,' he said. Other exemptions include green card holders, foreign nationals with valid nonimmigrant visas and unique classifications listed in the executive order, athletes traveling for the World Cup or other State Department-approved sporting events, immediate family immigrant visas with clear evidence of identity and family relationship, adoptions, U.S. government employees with an SIV and immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran. Afghan refugees who fall within the purview of the United States Refugee Admissions Program were not exempt. Trump signed an executive order suspending USRAP on Jan. 20.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California funds community resource event for Afghan community
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The protection status is set to be removed in July for refugees from Afghanistan living in San Diego County. Now, state and local advocates are hosting a free community resource event open to all Afghan community members and allies all week long at the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley. The event is free and is being paid for by the state of California, and comes on the heels of the Trump Administration moving to end temporary protection status for thousands of Afghan refugees in July. 'It's important for your viewers to know the federal government will not be there,' said founder of #AfghanEvac, Shawn VanDiver. He's one of the speakers at the event. VanDiver says the fair is to help guide the Afghan community to the resources they need from food assistance, housing, and mental wellness to job placement. Immigration attorneys will also be available to discuss status questions. 'If you're an Afghan and waiting for family or waiting for permanent status, you don't know what to believe or what to expect. It's scary,' said VanDiver. 'They can get help from qualified immigration attorneys to help them navigate those things. They should not be leaving without checking with a qualified immigration attorney first.' There will also be a job fair at the event to help with placement. The event is being held every day through Friday and runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DHS ends deportation protections for Afghans
The Department of Homeland Security terminated humanitarian relief Monday that allowed individuals from Afghanistan to remain in the United States as long as the country was deemed unsafe. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the end of temporary protected status, or TPS, for Afghanistan, stating that the return of individuals to the region no longer posed a threat to their personal safety. 'We've reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation,' Noem said in a DHS release. 'Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.' However, U.S. service members and Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan and whose family members still live in the country told Military Times in February that the region was patently unsafe. They said they constantly feared for their loved ones' lives and said the Taliban were actively hunting anyone affiliated with the United States government. The termination of TPS will go into effect on July 12, the DHS release said. Temporary protected status — a protection from deportation awarded by the U.S. to individuals who would otherwise face danger if they return to their country — was offered during the Biden administration to Afghan nationals fleeing Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew from the country. Noem cited the shift in policy as part of an overarching effort to 'restore integrity' in the American immigration system. DHS consulted with the State Department and analyzed a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services review of Afghanistan's conditions as part of its decision, according to the DHS release. The policy shift is unconscionable, said Shawn VanDiver, CEO of AfghanEvac, an organization that assists Afghan allies and refugees with relocation efforts. 'Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban,' VanDiver said in a statement. 'There is no functioning asylum system. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities.' Trump order blocks families of US troops from leaving Afghanistan VanDiver, speaking to Military Times, described the termination's ripple effects. 'A lot of these people are students or people who were brought here by the United States government during the withdrawal,' he said. 'By nature of them having been in the United States of America for the last three and a half years, they're now in danger.' He also said it would affect individuals' livelihoods, since losing TPS for many would mean they could no longer work. 'We're going to create this epidemic of homelessness,' he said. VanDiver estimated that more than 11,000 individuals from Afghanistan living in America would be affected by the termination of TPS. DHS' move to end TPS for Afghans comes on the heels of the department's separate decision to resettle white South African refugees in America, a decision that AfghanEvac labeled a 'hypocrisy' in the face of the government's dismantling of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, or USRAP, for Afghan refugees earlier this year. U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also expressed dismay at the administration's focus on South African refugees. 'It is baffling as to why the Trump Administration is admitting Afrikaners for resettlement while continuing an indefinite suspension for thousands of legitimate asylum seekers who have fled persecution, often because their lives were at risk,' Shaheen said. President Donald Trump, shortly after suspending USRAP on Jan. 27, signed an executive order on Feb. 7 promising to assist with relocation efforts for white 'ethnic minority' Afrikaners who the order said were being discriminated against. Trump claimed at a White House news conference Monday that white South African farmers were facing genocide in their home country, a catalyst for their swift relocation to the United States. 'Farmers are being killed,' he told journalists at the conference. 'They happen to be white. Whether they are white or Black makes no difference to me. But White farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa.' Police data shows that the majority of murders on farms that took place between 2020 and 2024 however, involved Black South Afrikaners, according to The New York Times. Upwards of 40 white South Africans granted refugee status by the Trump administration arrived Monday at Washington Dulles airport in Virginia, according to multiple reports.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Veterans groups urge Trump admin to continue Afghan ally support program amid budget cut concerns
A leaked budget proposal sent on April 10 from the White House Office of Management and Budget to the U.S. State Department highlighted the Trump administration's posture toward Afghan allies, particularly those awaiting transportation to the U.S. through the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) as part of Enduring Welcome. The OMB budget proposes ceasing additional funds to CARE and using the program's $600 million balance "for the orderly shutdown of the CARE program by end of [fiscal year] 2025." The National Security Council and State Department did not answer Fox News Digital's questions about whether these funds would be used to transport additional Afghans in the Special Immigrant Visa and the suspended U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) pipelines to the U.S., or simply to disassemble processing platforms in the Philippines, Qatar and Albania. Exclusive: As Afghan Christians Face Deportation, Faith Leaders Urge Trump Administration To Reconsider But a State Department spokesperson did tell Fox News Digital, "The Department is actively considering the future of our Afghan relocation program and the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE). At this time, no final decisions have been made. CARE continues to provide support to Afghan allies and partners previously relocated to our overseas case processing platforms." Veteran experts told Fox News Digital that the shutdown of CARE would be a problem for America's reputation and for the allies who believed in U.S. promises of safety. Read On The Fox News App U.S. Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of the #AfghanEvac, told Fox News Digital that Operation Enduring Welcome is "the safest, most secure legal immigration pathway our country has ever seen" and allows well-vetted Afghans "to show up in our communities and start businesses and become job creators… in a time when we have a labor shortage." VanDiver noted areas where Trump could improve on the Biden administration operation, which was carried out "so slowly that people have been left behind in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in 90 countries around the world… for three and a half years." Particularly in Pakistan, the Biden administration promised the Pakistani government "that it would process Afghans quickly," VanDiver said. "We haven't been keeping up our end of the deal; 10,000 people are stuck in Pakistan right now because President Biden couldn't house them fast enough." VanDiver emphasized that "President Trump has an opportunity to be a hero to veterans and our wartime allies, and demonstrate that when the United States makes a deal, it keeps its promise." In an open letter sent on April 23 to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and national security advisor Michael Waltz, #AfghanEvac states that "over 250,000 Afghans remain in the relocation pipelines." Andrew Sullivan, executive director of the nonprofit No One Left Behind, told Fox News Digital that his organization supported congressional authorization in 2024 for the three-year appointment of a Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, which had "wide bipartisan" and "wide bicameral support." Retired Army Captain Dedicates His Medal Of Honor Award To Fellow Soldiers In Afghanistan "Our belief is that Congress spoke for a reason and CARE should exist," Sullivan said. "We have a moral obligation and a national security imperative to ensure that we're continuing the facilitation of movement and safe refuge for our wartime allies." Ending Operation Enduring Welcome and the CARE program "just spits in the face of veterans like myself, who've been working to try and keep our promise to the Afghans who fought with us for 20 years," Sullivan said. In addition to two Iraq deployments, Sullivan deployed to Zabul, Afghanistan, as a U.S. Army infantry company commander in 2013. In February, he "deployed forward" with No One Left Behind to processing platforms in Tirana, Albania, and Doha, Qatar, after a Jan. 20 executive order reassessing foreign funding, thus ending government-funded flights for SIV applicants. Thanks to "robust American support that comes from across the political spectrum," No One Left Behind received sufficient donations to fund travel for more than 1,000 Afghans. "In Albania, I met someone that had been paralyzed by the Taliban after being shot twice," Sullivan said. "I met someone that had been tortured and shackled, hands and ankles together, for over a week before his release was secured by village elders." Both individuals were moved from Afghanistan in December 2024, which Sullivan says proves Afghans are still "facing brutality, absolutely facing death, if they remain in the clutches of the Taliban." Sullivan says that "those same things could happen" to tens of thousands of Afghans left behind by the Biden administration. This includes "10,000 principal [SIV] applicants and their families," who, according to State Department quarterly reports, have already received Chief of Mission approval, the SIV program's first hurdle. With no word about the fate of allies, many worry about Taliban retribution. So do numerous Afghans in the U.S. who learned in April that their parole has been revoked or their temporary protected status (TPS) was terminated by Secretary Noem. Questions sent to the Homeland Security were not immediately returned. Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that sending allies to Afghanistan "would be a death sentence for many." "The Taliban have demonstrated that they have – and continue to – ruthlessly hunted down Afghans who worked with the U.S. and former Afghan government," Roggio said. "Thousands have been murdered or tortured. The Taliban cannot be trusted in any way, shape or form. Their past actions, such as openly flaunting the failed Doha agreement and allowing al Qaeda safe have, or refusing to negotiate with the now defunct Afghan government, demonstrate this."Original article source: Veterans groups urge Trump admin to continue Afghan ally support program amid budget cut concerns
