Overview
- The administration is in talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo to take roughly 1,100 Afghans stranded at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar, Reuters reported Wednesday after AfghanEvac said Tuesday it was briefed on the option.
- AfghanEvac says U.S. officials told them evacuees would be offered Congo or a return to Taliban‑ruled Afghanistan, a choice the group calls an attempt to “manufacture a refusal.”
- The State Department has not confirmed Congo as a destination and describes any move as voluntary resettlement to a third country, while residents include relatives of U.S. citizens and service members who have waited months or years.
- Advocates argue Congo is unsafe, noting years of conflict, a Rwanda‑backed rebellion in the east, and millions of people already displaced or seeking refuge there.
- Afghan visa processing largely stopped after Trump took office in 2025 and tightened further following a November shooting, a judge ruled the SIV halt unlawful in February yet cases remain stalled, and a prior bid to send the group to Botswana collapsed over a new $15,000 U.S. visa bond requirement.