Some Republicans in Congress are splitting from the Trump administration over its crackdown on legal immigration from Afghanistan, especially for those migrants who helped U.S. war efforts there.
Over the past year, the U.S. has paused visa and other programs for Afghan nationals, among others. Those already in the country have also been stripped of temporary permission to stay.
Further immigration restrictions followed after an Afghan national was charged in the deadly shooting of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C., last month.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, N.C., cautioned against a "knee-jerk reaction" that could block a number of Afghans with valid cases for temporary or permanent immigration status from coming to the U.S.
"One thing we've forgotten is how important that is for our special operators," Tillis said, referencing examples of his own constituents with deep attachments to Afghans abroad. "It puts them in a more dangerous spot if we lose sight of that."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also worried about the impact on Afghans from the cuts.
"There are Afghan citizens who acted as guards, drivers, interpreters, cooks for our troops," Collins said. "I've talked to veterans who have been very concerned about the safety of Afghans who have helped us. So I think the answer is more intensive and careful vetting than occurred during the Biden administration."
The GOP divisions come as President Trump spent the bulk of his 2024 presidential campaign vowing to launch the largest deportation effort in American history.
Some Republicans have also pushed back against changes to visa programs for migrant laborers and in favor of more permanent status for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Afghan soldiers who assisted U.S. troops have, in the past, enjoyed bipartisan support for their immigration cases.
Meanwhile, Trump has promoted the idea that only some people are welcome in the U.S.
"I've also announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries," Trump said last week at an event in Pennsylvania.
Policy changes throughout the year
On his first day in office, Trump paused the refugee resettlement program, effectively stranding thousands of people already approved to come to the U.S.
This included Afghans who had helped U.S. troops, immigration advocates said. Afghanistan was one of the top countries sending refugees to the U.S. in fiscal year 2024, according to Homeland Security Department data; out of just over 100,000 refugees admitted that year, 14,680 were from Afghanistan.
Some Republicans first raised concern about the pause's impact on those who had assisted U.S. armed forces.
The refugee program has since been significantly scaled back, and the target demographic for entrants is now white South Africans, according to the administration.
In June, Trump added Afghanistan to a list of 19 countries for which travel to the U.S. would be restricted.
And after the attack on National Guard members in D.C. around Thanksgiving, the Trump administration paused processing asylum cases, green cards and other immigration services for those from the countries listed in June's travel ban. It also paused processing all visas specifically for Afghans.
Trump has argued that those who came from Afghanistan were not properly vetted under the Biden administration.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged in connection with the shooting, was admitted to the U.S. in 2021 under the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome program. He was then granted asylum earlier this year under the Trump administration.
"This animal would've never been here if not for Joe Biden's dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in response to a request for comment about the Republican divisions.
It is not clear what could have been uncovered through additional vetting before Lakanwal arrived to the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the suspect could have been radicalized after coming to the U.S. At the same time, advocates have long criticized agencies such as the CIA and DHS for failing to provide resources, including for mental health, for Afghan soldiers transitioning to life in America after experiencing harrowing violence.
Questions about Congress's role
Immigrant advocacy groups accuse lawmakers of ceding their power to the president when it comes to immigration policy.
"Instead of asserting its constitutional role, Congress has allowed itself to be sidelined, failing to provide meaningful oversight," Shawn VanDiver, the founder of the organization AfghanEvac, which advocates for Afghans who worked with U.S. troops, said during a press conference. "Failing to modernize the asylum, refugee, or [special immigrant visa] systems. The vacuum they have left is being filled with fear-mongering, not facts; politics, not policy."
Congress this year has passed very few immigration-related bills, mostly focusing on funding the Department of Homeland Security's enforcement efforts. Many other legislative efforts to facilitate or reform immigration processes have been at a standstill.
But some Republicans are happy to leave immigration in the administration's hands.
"Primarily, that's an executive branch issue," Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who sits on the Homeland Security Committee, said about the vetting process of Afghans and other immigrants.
"Our staff are not the ones that are actually doing the vetting. The vetting process does exist and is out there. It's just a matter of its execution at this point."
Republican leaders also appear aligned with the Trump administration on the topic.
House Republicans stripped a bipartisan provision from the National Defense Authorization Act that would have brought back an office at the State Department that relocates Afghan refugees. The legislation passed the House last week and is set for a Senate vote this week.
"Republican leadership tanked months of bipartisan work," Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., who introduced the provision, said in a statement. "It is truly shameful that my Republican colleagues, some of whom served in Afghanistan and uniquely understand the debt we owe our allies, have once again put blind loyalty to Trump over American principles and obligations."
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told NPR that one solution to the question of Afghan vetting would be to pass the "Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act," which provides a pathway for Afghans to apply for legal permanent residency, following additional vetting, and is supported by senators of both parties. The bill was introduced in August, but has not seen a committee vote.
"I'd like to see the bill that I sponsored, which would have increased vetting on anybody applying here, to take effect before we make another decision," Cassidy said.
Still, enthusiasm to tackle anything immigration-related in this Congress is low.
John Cornyn, R-Texas, has in the past supported measures for special immigrant visas for Afghan military interpreters and translators. But he told NPR that now is not the right time to restart that conversation, without elaborating on his reasons.
"It's premature to talk about that," Cornyn said.
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