Bush Center Criticizes U.S. Suspension of Afghan Migrant Program
The George W. Bush Presidential Center criticized the U.S. decision to suspend Afghan immigration, saying it punishes allies who risked their lives supporting American forces over decades.
The George W. Bush Presidential Center has criticized the U.S. government’s decision to halt acceptance of Afghan migrants who assisted American forces, calling the move contrary to core U.S. values.
The Center emphasized that tens of thousands of Afghans risked their lives over the past two decades by collaborating with the United States and its international allies, providing crucial support in military and humanitarian operations.
The policy shift follows the shooting by Abdul Rahman Lakanwal, a former Afghan soldier accused of killing a U.S. National Guard member in Washington. In response, the Trump administration suspended asylum and immigration approvals for Afghans and several other nationalities.
As a result of the suspension, thousands of Afghans still trapped in Afghanistan will be denied U.S. visas, while the cases of refugees already in the country are undergoing renewed review, raising concern among advocacy groups and congressional members.
Sixty-one U.S. lawmakers wrote to the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, condemning the administration for exploiting the actions of one individual to impose sweeping restrictions on Afghan migrants. They warned that the policy spreads fear and uncertainty across Afghanistan communities in the United States.
Immigration attorneys and refugee advocates in Sacramento, California, home to one of the largest Afghan populations in the U.S.—reported a surge in arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with at least 24 Afghan migrants detained since early December, including nine last week alone. Analysts warn the suspension risks leaving thousands of Afghan allies vulnerable to Taliban retribution, undermining U.S. credibility and calling for urgent, humane immigration reforms.
Lakanwal, who arrived in the U.S. in 2021 with his wife and five young children under the “Welcome Allies” program, has been formally charged with first-degree murder. The Bush Center stressed that the shooter alone is responsible, and Afghan migrants should not face collective punishment.
The post Bush Center Criticizes U.S. Suspension of Afghan Migrant Program appeared first on Khaama Press.