What did Donald Trump do today?
He said he'd stop the deportation of Afghan allies to the Taliban, but not the ones living in the United States he could actually help.
In a social media post this morning, Trump said he would help Afghan citizens living in the United Arab Emirates avoid being deported to Afghanistan, where they are likely to face persecution by the Taliban.
On its face, this is a fairly routine diplomatic exercise. Countries often coordinate on how to divide refugee populations amongst themselves. The end of the United States' military involvement in Afghanistan, which Trump committed to in 2020 after negotiating with the Taliban, forced Afghan citizens who had been aiding the United States to flee or face persecution and death. Some, the people Trump is now claiming he will "help," ended up in the United Arab Emirates.
But others came to the United States. These included translators, military and police forces who fought alongside American troops, local political leaders, people who sold supplies to American forces, and others who aided the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. About 200,000 refugees settled in the United States as the Taliban almost immediately deposed the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.
In May, Trump rescinded the protected status of those Afghan refugees, making them liable to deportation back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A few weeks later, thousands of them received a chilling e-mail: "It is time for you to leave the United States." Most of them cannot legally go anywhere but back to Afghanistan.
Veterans' groups have been desperately trying to secure some kind of protection for these refugees, to whom they entrusted their lives when deployed. Many veterans speak of their obligation to Afghan colleagues as a matter of honor, and that to cast them loose now that the war is over would be an "intentional betrayal." Alarmed by the Trump administration practice of seizing people when they voluntarily appeared at scheduled immigration hearings, veterans are organizing escorts for Afghan refugees, in the hopes that Trump will not target them.
Trump has not explained why Afghan refugees in the UAE are deserving of the United States' help and support, but not those who came to the United States. But the post declaring his support gives a hint: he cited a piece from a Trump-friendly media outlet, Just The News. That piece was an explicit appeal to Trump, couched in Trump-friendly language complete with slurs at his political enemies, and it was written by Lara Logan, a former journalist turned pro-Trump conspiracy theorist.
Trump did not indicate any change in his policy towards the 200,000 Afghan allies he can most easily "save," nor is there any clear indication he's aware they exist.
Why does this matter?
- Presidents need to be willing and able to defend America's allies all the time, not just when a supporter asks for a special favor.
- Many Americans still care about whether we conduct ourselves with honor towards our allies.