Trump at odds with US military veterans over snarled Afghan relocations
Advocates say broad executive orders have hurt Afghans seeking to flee to the US after aiding its military and other groups.
Washington, DC – When Ruqia Balkhi arrived in the United States in September 2023, she was greeted by a federally funded resettlement agency that helped her launch a new life.
Balkhi, a 55-year-old engineer, was one of the thousands of Afghans who worked alongside the US military during its two-decade-long intervention in her home country.
But after the fall of the US-backed government in 2021, it became unsafe for her to stay in Afghanistan under Taliban leadership.
So she left for the US. During her first 90 days in the country, Balkhi received temporary housing, language lessons, basic goods, mental health support and guidance on enrolling her 15-year-old son in a local school in Virginia.
However, when her husband, Mohammed Aref Mangal, arrived under the same visa programme in January, those services had been abruptly halted. President Donald Trump had just been inaugurated, and the US had tightened restrictions on federal funding and immigration.
“It was completely opposite for my husband,” Balkhi said of the circumstances he faced.
Advocates say her family’s story illustrates how Trump’s broad executive orders might have repercussions even for areas of bipartisan support.
Veteran organisations have largely supported efforts to bring Afghan citizens to safety in the US, particularly if they worked with US forces or the US-backed government.
But in the first days of Trump’s second term, the government paused the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), leaving some already approved Afghan applicants stranded abroad.
Another executive order halted foreign aid. That, in turn, has caused