WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has quietly eliminated the federal office responsible for coordinating the relocation of Afghan allies, drawing condemnation from veterans’ groups, human rights advocates and former military personnel.
The decision to disband the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, known as CARE, was first reported by AfghanEvac, a nonprofit coalition supporting Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the two-decade war. The office was established in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 to manage the complex evacuation and resettlement process for thousands of Afghan nationals.
Its closure, noted in a State Department reorganization plan reviewed by AfghanEvac, occurred without a public announcement or a clearly articulated transition strategy. Critics say the move effectively abandons many Afghans who remain in danger under Taliban rule.
“This is not streamlining. This is deliberate dismantling,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, which includes military veterans, refugee advocates and families of service members. “CARE was a necessary response to the failures of the U.S. withdrawal. Shutting it down without explanation or replacement is a betrayal.”
According to AfghanEvac, the CARE office was eliminated alongside two other key entities: the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs. The changes appear in an internal State Department reorganization document dated earlier this year.
While federal law still requires the appointment of a coordinator for Afghan relocation, the current administration has offered only vague assurances. In response to recent congressional inquiries, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the department would “comply with all statutory requirements,” but did not clarify whether a successor would be named.
“This kind of ambiguity reads as calculated misdirection,” VanDiver said. “It deepens the uncertainty for thousands of Afghans who placed their trust in the United States.”
The rollback coincides with renewed efforts in Congress to overhaul immigration policy. A Republican-backed bill, H.R. 1 — dubbed by its sponsors the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — would impose new application fees for asylum, parole and work permits; strip Afghan parolees and humanitarian entrants of access to Medicaid, food assistance and other public benefits; and broaden the government’s powers to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
Advocates say the measure could severely hamper efforts to resettle Afghans, many of whom remain in legal limbo abroad or within the United States.
“This is not just a bureaucratic shift,” VanDiver said. “It’s part of a broader strategy to shut the door on Afghan allies who are still waiting — and still hoping — that the United States will keep its word.”
AfghanEvac has called on Congress to intervene, urging lawmakers to demand clarification from Secretary Rubio and Secretary Kristi Noem on the status of the CARE office, enforce the legal mandate to appoint a coordinator for Afghan relocation efforts and reject provisions in H.R. 1 that would penalize Afghans once welcomed under U.S. protection.
“America made a promise,” VanDiver said. “AfghanEvac intends to keep it — even if this administration will not.”
