Trump administration may send Afghans who aided US forces to Congo
About 1,100 Afghans are currently at a U.S.-managed transit facility in Qatar.
Hundreds of Afghans who helped the United States during its war on terror may be sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after President Donald Trump halted their U.S. settlement, an advocacy group said this week.
Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of the advocacy group #AfghanEvac, said he had been briefed by multiple officials on the Trump administration's plan, which was first reported by The New York Times.
The 1,100 Afghans consist of interpreters as well as relatives of U.S. military members, including more than 400 children and hundreds of women. They are currently in U.S. custody at a U.S.-managed transit facility in Doha, Qatar.
VanDiver said his understanding of the administration's plan is that the Afghans will be given the choice to voluntarily resettle in Congo or move back to Afghanistan where, he said, they could be targeted by Taliban forces.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
"The DRC is not a responsible option," VanDiver said during a briefing Wednesday. "You cannot call a choice voluntary when the two options are the Congo and the Taliban. Civil War, or an oppressor who wants to kill you."
Congo is experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises as armed groups fight over territory, with millions of people displaced. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, 8.2 million people were displaced as of September 2025, with the number expected to reach 9 million by the end of the year.
Congo, already hosting over 600,000 refugees and in an active armed conflict, is not considered a safe or suitable resettlement option, VanDiver said.
"This is not them trying to resettle 1,100 Afghans. This is them trying to send 1,100 Afghans back to Afghanistan, mostly women and children, where the Taliban has a documented record of killing people with U.S. service ties and using the Democratic Republic of Congo as the cover that lets them do it," he said.
"You do not solve the world's No. 1 refugee crisis by dumping it into the world's No. 2 refugee crisis," he added.
A spokesperson at the State Department said the agency is continuing to work to identify options for the voluntary resettlement of Afghans but declined to disclose any details regarding the ongoing negotiations.
"We remain in regular and direct communication with residents on resettlement efforts," a spokesperson said, adding that moving the Afghans to a third country is a "positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people."
More than 190,000 Afghans who served the American war effort have already been resettled in the U.S. lawfully under the most rigorous vetting framework in modern U.S. immigration history, according to #AfghanEvac. The 1,100 Afghans awaiting resettlement were vetted under that same framework.
The administration's reported plan is facing fierce opposition from veterans, lawmakers, and the Afghan community, who argue it violates humanitarian principles and national security interests.
Advocates say the Afghans have already undergone rigorous vetting and called for Congress to intervene and bring them to the U.S.
The Trump administration paused the Afghan resettlement program last year as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration.