The U.S. State Department has canceled additional contracts related to Afghan resettlement programs, including initiatives supporting women and girls, according to the head of AfghanEvac, an organization that assists Afghan allies awaiting relocation to the United States.
Shawn VanDiver, who leads the veteran-backed advocacy group, said the cancellations occurred over the weekend and affected critical aid programs, including food assistance.
“They’re speeding past abandonment toward actively trying to starve and kill our allies. It’s unconscionable,” VanDiver wrote in a post on X on Sunday.
He also expressed concern about what he described as an effort to create “space for anti-veteran officials” within the administration, claiming some are seeking to dismantle programs such as the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and the P-1 and P-2 refugee categories for at-risk Afghans.
“We will not allow hard-line immigration activists to divide veterans fighting for our wartime allies,” he added.
The latest developments come in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that paused the United States Refugee Admissions Program for Unfinished Processing and Transit (USRUPT). As a result, thousands of Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces or worked with American agencies remain stranded in third countries, despite having completed all required steps for relocation.
Advocates say the growing delays and cancellations are leaving Afghan allies in legal and humanitarian limbo.
