Can't go forward, can't go back: Afghan refugees stuck in Qatar wait for a way forward

WASHINGTON — Negina Khalili's family sold their house and possessions in Afghanistan and flew to a U.S. base in Qatar in January, preparing for the last step in emigrating to America. Thirteen days later, the Trump administration took office — and suspended the refugee program that would have let them in.

Now they are among a small group of Afghans who advocates say are waiting at a camp in Qatar for permission to one day come to America.

''If they send them back to Afghanistan," Khalili said, ''that will be a huge risk for my family."

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House, among the numerous immigration-related executive orders he signed was one suspending the country's refugee program. Thousands of people around the world suddenly found their path cut off — people who had been hoping to emigrate to America through a program that over decades has helped people fleeing war, persecution and strife to come to the United States.

Now they wait and hope.

For those waiting in Qatar, clarity fades

For a small group of Afghans in Qatar, it was especially jarring. They had traveled there before Trump took office, then found themselves stuck with little clarity on what would happen to them in the future, advocates and sources familiar with the situation say.

''We brought them there. And it's on us to figure out what to do with them next. The only right answer is to follow through on what was promised," VanDiver said.

When the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the U.S. airlifted out tens of thousands of Afghans who'd supported the American efforts. It was a chaotic withdrawal: Desperate Afghans thronged Kabul's airport hoping for a way out. In the years that followed, as the issue fell from the headlines, the Biden administration continued to relocate tens of thousands of Afghans right up until Biden left office.

There are two main ways Afghans can emigrate to America. The classic example is the military translator who worked directly for the U.S. government and qualifies for the special immigrant visa. Afghans who don't meet those guidelines but who assisted America's efforts in Afghanistan and are at risk for it can be referred to refugee programs.

They usually come to the United States through a network of ''lilypads'' set up under the Biden administration in a few countries around the world. Afghans who passed key steps in a lengthy process to emigrate would travel to these ''lilypads'' to finish their processing and eventually journey onward to the United States.

In Qatar, they're housed in a former U.S. military base now run by the State Department. They can't go off the base unless escorted by a U.S. official.

Since Trump returned to office, Afghans can still come through the special immigrant visa process, although they have to pay their own way or get help. But Afghan refugees have been shut out after Trump suspended the program. In Qatar, that has meant waiting and worrying. Similar concerns are playing out in Pakistan, where the Pakistani government has been aggressively pushing Afghan refugees to return home.

One of those in Qatar is Saliha. She's an Afghan lawyer and part of a generation of women who grew up after the U.S. invasion. These women could go to school and college, and get jobs that took them out into the world.

She opened her own law firm and helped abused women get divorces. After the Taliban retook control, she and her family went into hiding, and she was referred to the refugee program two years ago. Around that time, the Taliban had been going around to her father's house, trying to find her and saying: ''Your daughter helped our wives leave us.'' Saliha gave only her first name out of concern for her safety if she and her family were to return to Afghanistan.

She and her family arrived in the Qatar camp in January, hopeful they'd soon be in America. Then came the refugee program suspension.

Saliha said there are classes for the Afghan children, and a park where the kids can play. The men go to the gym together and play soccer; the women often gather to socialize.

''We worked hard and sacrificed a lot. We did nothing wrong," Saliha said. ''Our only sin is helping the women of Afghanistan, defend women who had been abused and raped.''

The program is suspended indefinitely, for now

It's not clear if the Trump administration will resume the refugee program. Right now, it's suspended indefinitely. Trump requested a report looking at whether to resume it, but those results haven't been made public.

Advocates for the Afghan refugees stress how much vetting they go through before actually getting to America, and what they did to contribute to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. VanDiver said within that group of 1,200 in Qatar are 200 relatives of U.S. service members.

Groups that help to resettle refugees have sued to restart the refugee program. An appeals court said the government was within its authority to suspend it, but that a small subset of already-approved refugees should be allowed in.

In a statement, the State Department said it was ''actively considering the future of our Afghan relocation program'' as well as the office specifically tasked with coordinating Afghan relocation efforts.

''No final decisions have been made,'' the department said. It also said it continues to provide support to ''Afghan allies and partners'' overseas.

In the meantime, Afghans trying to get to the United States — and those waiting for them here — wait and worry.

Khalili, a former prosecutor in Afghanistan, fled in the 2021 withdrawal. She worries about what will happen to her father, brother and stepmother and whether they'll be forced back to Afghanistan. They message back and forth daily.