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Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration is reportedly hoping to ship Afghan refugees to Congo — or again to the nation they fled from.
What’s taking place? Based on a New York Occasions scoop, greater than 1,100 Afghan refugees who’re at present in Qatar at a former US army base and who have been promised an opportunity to come back to the US could quickly be supplied a alternative between relocation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and returning to Afghanistan.
Neither possibility is fascinating: Congo is at present dealing with a severe refugee disaster and ongoing preventing with a insurgent paramilitary group, and the refugees don’t have any ties to the nation. However in Afghanistan, their lives could be in fast hazard from the nation’s Taliban authorities.
Who’re the refugees? Most of the 1,100 Afghans now caught in limbo in Qatar aided the US over almost 20 years of battle as interpreters working with US troops or served as members of the Afghan particular forces. Some, the Occasions reviews, are relations of American troopers, and greater than 400 are youngsters.
Most have additionally already been screened and permitted to maneuver to the US, in response to NBC.
What’s the context? The US took in almost 200,000 Afghan refugees throughout and after its chaotic withdrawal from the nation in August 2021, however the Trump administration ended visa processing for all Afghans final yr after two Nationwide Guard members in Washington, DC, have been shot by an Afghan nationwide who was admitted to the US in 2021.
What comes subsequent? This isn’t but a achieved deal, solely underneath dialogue by the Trump administration and Congolese officers. However it could match a well-worn sample of the Trump administration attempting to ship refugees and different immigrants wherever they will, no matter security or different moral issues. Earlier this month, Congo agreed to obtain immigrants from third nations deported by the US, and a minimum of 15 folks have been despatched there final week.
And with that, it’s time to log out…
Hello readers, blissful Earth Day! In case you’re searching for some actionable methods to assist the planet immediately, my colleagues over at Future Excellent pulled collectively some charity suggestions right here.
In case you’re simply able to log out, I hope you’re in a position to do it by getting exterior and having fun with nature somewhat bit this night. Thanks for studying, and we’ll see you again right here tomorrow!
