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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 Instances scoop, greater than 1,100 Afghan refugees who’re at present in Qatar at a former US navy base and who have been promised an opportunity to return to the US might 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 combating with a insurgent paramilitary group, and the refugees don’t have any ties to the nation. However in Afghanistan, their lives could be in instant 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 conflict as interpreters working with US troops or served as members of the Afghan particular forces. Some, the Instances studies, are relations of American troopers, and greater than 400 are kids.
Most have additionally already been screened and accepted to maneuver to the US, in keeping with 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 12 months 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 carried out deal, solely underneath dialogue by the Trump administration and Congolese officers. However it could match a well-worn sample of the Trump administration making an attempt to ship refugees and different immigrants wherever they’ll, no matter security or different moral considerations. Earlier this month, Congo agreed to obtain immigrants from third nations deported by the US, and at the very least 15 individuals have been despatched there final week.
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
Hello readers, pleased Earth Day! If you happen to’re searching for some actionable methods to assist the planet at the moment, my colleagues over at Future Good pulled collectively some charity suggestions right here.
If you happen to’re simply able to sign off, I hope you’re capable of do it by getting exterior and having fun with nature just a little bit this night. Thanks for studying, and we’ll see you again right here tomorrow!