Blumenthal Leads Group of 29 Senators Calling on Trump Administration to Halt Removal of Afghan Allies to DRC

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, led a group of 29 Senators in writing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising alarm over the Trump Administration's reported plans to transfer Afghan interpreters and allies currently located in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Afghan refugees were evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. government due to their work on behalf of American forces and the risk their support of the U.S. mission poses to their lives.

"We made a promise to our allies. They fought alongside our sons and daughters for years with the understanding that America would not abandon them if the worst came to pass.," wrote the Senators. "Instead of honoring that promise, the Administration is reportedly offering them a false dichotomy: to return to Afghanistan where torture and death await them, or to be sent to a country in the midst of one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world."

Today's letter was signed by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Rubio,

We write to express our profound alarm over reports that the Administration is considering transferring Afghan refugees currently located in Qatar - many of whom served alongside U.S. servicemembers in the Global War on Terror - to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

According to multiple credible reports, the Administration is considering relocating more than 1,000 Afghan nationals currently stranded in Qatar, including interpreters, special operations personnel, and their families to the DRC. Should the Administration pursue these negotiations with the DRC and relocate those families, it would constitute one of the most cruel and imprudent betrayals in our Nation's history.

The Afghan refugees currently living in Doha have been vetted time and again over the last two decades. They fought alongside U.S. forces against the Taliban and the Islamic State, often at great personal risk. They made their decision to fight with us knowing that, as a result, they and their families would be hunted by the Taliban and Islamic State for the rest of their lives. After the fall of Afghanistan many of them were promised safety under the Special Immigrant Visa program or other resettlement pathways that the Administration has stalled or abandoned completely.

Moreover, the DRC is currently experiencing a humanitarian crisis of its own. Millions of displaced persons are experiencing hunger and illness as they have fled conflicts in their own countries. The United Nations declared that the DRC is gripped by "one of the world's most complex displacement crises despite peace efforts." Callously sending our Afghan allies - to include 400 children - into an ongoing humanitarian disaster cannot be the United States' legacy amongst the Afghan people.

We made a promise to our allies. They fought alongside our sons and daughters for years with the understanding that America would not abandon them if the worst came to pass. Instead of honoring that promise, the Administration is reportedly offering them a false dichotomy: to return to Afghanistan where torture and death await them, or to be sent to a country in the midst of one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world.

The Administration may not hold itself responsible for the events that led to the Afghan refugee crisis, but it is responsible for the path forward. We urge you to cease any negotiations that would result in the involuntary or coerced transfer of Afghan allies to third countries ill-equipped to ensure their safety. The Administration's missteps with allies around the world have already damaged our global standing and reputation, do not compound your past mistakes with another.

Thank you for your earnest attention to this matter, we look forward to your response.

-30-

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Tweet