In executive order, Trump has suspended the US refugee program for four months

One of US President Donald Trump’s several executive orders has put the resettlement plans of 1,660 Afghan nationals in jeopardy.

Trump signed a slew of executive orders immediately after taking power on Monday ranging from a pause on the ban on TikTok to pardoning the people accused in the January 6 riots. One of these executive orders involved suspending the US refugee program.

The order cancelled flights that were set to carry 1,660 Afghan citizens to the US for resettlement and their future is now uncertain.

Among the people whose flights were cancelled are at least 200 children who are unaccompanied by family members, according to Reuters.

The Afghan citizens also include those who fought for the Ashraf Ghani government against the Taliban and now fear retaliation. Several Afghan-Americans, including naturalized citizens who fought for the US are also on the list.

Trump’s decision has also put a cloud of uncertainty over the future of Afghans who were waiting to be resettled after the current batch’s process had been completed.

Since the fall of Kabul in 2021, nearly 200,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States by the Joe Biden administration.

According to a statement from the White House, the refugee program was suspended for four months because “communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources.”

Trump ran a whirlwind campaign for the US presidential election which centered around the slogan of stopping illegal immigration to the US and making borders stronger.

He has also announced that his administration will do all it can to get back weapons left behind in Afghanistan during the 2021 withdrawal.