WASHINGTON — AfghanEvac, A U.S.-based refugee advocacy group, says the Trump administration is preparing to shut down the final federal office responsible for coordinating the resettlement of Afghan evacuees, weeks after quietly dissolving another key relocation unit known as CARE.
AfghanEvac, a nonprofit coalition supporting Afghan nationals brought to the United States after the 2021 fall of Kabul, said in a statement that the administration is now targeting the closure of the Enduring Welcome office — a State Department-led initiative responsible for supporting the long-term resettlement of Afghans in the U.S.
Since its launch, Enduring Welcome has provided temporary housing assistance, food stipends, legal counsel, and help securing immigration status to more than 200,000 Afghans, according to the group.
“This is not a routine bureaucratic adjustment,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac. “This is the deliberate dismantling of the only federal mechanism created to fulfill promises made to Afghan allies during the U.S. withdrawal.”
The Biden administration initially established CARE — the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts — to manage emergency evacuations. That office was quietly shut down earlier this year, with no formal replacement announced.
Now, AfghanEvac says Enduring Welcome faces the same fate, even though no alternative structure has been proposed to continue its work.
Internal documents confirm that, in addition to CARE, the offices of the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs have also been dissolved.
While the administration has not publicly addressed the closure of Enduring Welcome, refugee advocates warn that eliminating the final institutional support system will leave thousands of Afghans without critical assistance — and will send a troubling message to wartime allies.
“The mission is far from over,” VanDiver said. “Ending this office without a viable successor is a betrayal of trust, plain and simple.”
