WEBVTT 00:01.966 --> 00:03.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: When it comes to immigration policy, President Trump's executive order 00:03.966 --> 00:08.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% suspending all refugee admissions into the U.S. has far-reaching consequences, 00:10.600 --> 00:13.000 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% including for those who helped America's mission in Afghanistan. 00:13.000 --> 00:17.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has more. 00:17.166 --> 00:21.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Tens of thousands of Afghans, including family members of active-duty U.S. 00:21.266 --> 00:26.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% military, are now in limbo, despite some already receiving approval to relocate to the U.S. 00:27.966 --> 00:31.666 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Joining me now is Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of AfghanEvac, 00:31.666 --> 00:34.933 align:left position:30% line:77% size:60% a coalition of organizations that works to resettle Afghans who 00:34.933 --> 00:38.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% worked with the United States prior to the 2021 withdrawal. 00:38.833 --> 00:43.700 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% Shawn, almost 2,000 Afghans had already been approved to resettle in the U.S. before January 00:43.700 --> 00:48.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% 27. That was the date the executive action was supposed to take effect. But, overnight, 00:50.400 --> 00:52.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% the State Department canceled all flights, canceled processing. 00:52.933 --> 00:57.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% What are you hearing from families and people who were expecting to relocate to the U.S.? 00:57.833 --> 01:00.400 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% SHAWN VANDIVER, Founder, AfghanEvac: Sure. Thank you for having me on. 01:00.400 --> 01:04.033 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% I want to add some clarity to that number. About 2,000 was the number that we expected to travel 01:06.300 --> 01:09.433 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% over three months, what we thought the pause was going to be, but it's indefinite. So, people are 01:11.533 --> 01:14.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% being pulled off flights now. Flights are being canceled, but the truth is there are more than 01:14.733 --> 01:19.733 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% 10,000 Afghans who are fully vetted, security vetted, medically cleared, and ready to go. 01:21.233 --> 01:25.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And now they don't know what's coming next. We 01:25.166 --> 01:28.133 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% have asked the State Department to give very clear guidance to them, 01:28.133 --> 01:32.400 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% that we hope they're going to do that. They haven't affirmatively confirmed that yet. 01:32.400 --> 01:37.333 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% But, look, the truth is, is, these people who have been waiting for 3.5 years in many cases 01:37.333 --> 01:42.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% are now stuck in limbo yet again. And it feels very much like August of 2021. We're 01:44.333 --> 01:46.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% getting frantic text messages. People are begging for help. My e-mail inbox is just 01:46.866 --> 01:51.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% buzzing over and over and over again. My phone is draining so fast. And people are terrified. 01:54.066 --> 01:56.100 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: We should clarify that the president's executive action doesn't apply to 01:56.100 --> 02:00.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Afghans approved for Special Immigrant Visas. Those are people who worked for 02:00.333 --> 02:04.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the U.S. armed forces, but it will impact thousands of others, as you said, Shawn. 02:04.600 --> 02:09.600 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% And refugee admissions were on the upswing in recent years, reaching around 100,000 in the last 02:11.966 --> 02:15.433 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% year. But the Trump White House argues that the U.S. lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of 02:17.766 --> 02:21.600 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% migrants, including refugees, without compromising resources, safety and security for Americans. 02:23.133 --> 02:24.900 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% What's your response to that? 02:24.900 --> 02:27.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% SHAWN VANDIVER: A couple things, right? 02:27.033 --> 02:30.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So, Special Immigrant Visas are not impacted by this. That's really important for Afghans 02:30.333 --> 02:35.333 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% to hear and our advocates to hear. The idea that the country can't absorb these folks is -- like, 02:37.300 --> 02:40.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% I just don't think it's real. And what is really 02:40.500 --> 02:45.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% important to note is that USRAP is a legal immigration program. 02:45.033 --> 02:47.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And the vetting that people go through to go 02:47.766 --> 02:51.533 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% through the United States Refugee Admissions Program is more strict 02:51.533 --> 02:56.500 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% than police officers are vetted or our military or any number of folks. Like, 02:58.800 --> 03:01.700 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% it is the gold standard in vetting. If you're coming here as a refugee, we know you're safe. 03:03.766 --> 03:06.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: President Trump has also spoken often about the chaotic military 03:06.100 --> 03:10.900 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, often blaming his predecessor on the campaign trail. 03:12.800 --> 03:16.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But this action, how does it affect the overall mission to safely evacuate 03:17.766 --> 03:20.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and resettle those Afghans who helped the U.S.? 03:20.600 --> 03:22.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% SHAWN VANDIVER: Well, just like you said, 03:22.366 --> 03:24.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% President Trump talked a lot about this on the campaign trail. 03:24.233 --> 03:27.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% We are hopeful that because he brought it up at every debate, 03:27.800 --> 03:32.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% they brought it up every day at the RNC, he did a much better job than President Biden did 03:32.033 --> 03:37.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% of standing by the Abbey Gate families. We know that he cares deeply about Afghans. So we think 03:39.166 --> 03:41.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% this is a mistake. And we know that he values loyalty. We also know he likes to make a deal. 03:41.866 --> 03:46.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So we're hopeful that he and his administration are ready to come to the table and talk about 03:46.233 --> 03:51.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% how we can make a deal to protect these loyal folks that stood by us for 20 years of war. 03:53.100 --> 03:56.833 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% These people are family of the United States active-duty service members in 03:56.833 --> 04:01.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the U.S. military. They're partner forces that trained alongside our Green Berets, 04:03.300 --> 04:05.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% that trained, fought, and bled alongside our Green Berets. 04:05.800 --> 04:09.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% These are folks that flew in the Afghan air force, women who flew in the Afghan 04:09.133 --> 04:12.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% air force. They're judges and prosecutors, all sorts of people that did everything they could 04:12.900 --> 04:17.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to stand up for the idea of America. And because they did that, they are at risk. 04:17.033 --> 04:21.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And we owe them a debt of gratitude and we owe them their shot at the American dream. 04:21.633 --> 04:25.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: You called this a mistake. Are you and others talking to the Trump White 04:25.833 --> 04:30.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% House about reversing course on this or about providing an exemption for Afghans? 04:32.866 --> 04:34.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SHAWN VANDIVER: We have been trying to get ahold of them. The phones don't work yet, 04:34.666 --> 04:37.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% I don't think. We want to work together on this. We have worked. 04:37.800 --> 04:42.433 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% We worked with the Biden administration for 3.5 years. AfghanEvac is dedicated -- we're a 04:42.433 --> 04:47.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% nonpartisan organization. If you're willing to help Afghans, we're here to help. We have the 04:47.133 --> 04:51.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% trust of Afghans. And for good reason, Afghans don't trust the United States government. We 04:51.500 --> 04:56.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% have got to rebuild that trust. And we got to make sure that we deliver on our promise. 04:58.700 --> 05:01.666 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% And President Trump signed the deal to close us out of Afghanistan. We're confident he is 05:03.766 --> 05:05.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ready to see us through. He just has to know the impacts of the orders that he signed. 05:05.866 --> 05:10.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Shawn, I spoke to a service member in the Army's 82nd Airborne, 05:10.500 --> 05:15.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% and he told me that his sister and her husband are still in Afghanistan, that they had almost 05:17.533 --> 05:19.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% been done with the process. And the only thing that he was asking of the government 05:19.733 --> 05:24.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% was to help his family, who he said remains in danger and is being threatened by the Taliban. 05:26.633 --> 05:29.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% As a veteran yourself, what do you say to these service members? 05:29.800 --> 05:34.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SHAWN VANDIVER: Well, first, I have to say that I'm so sorry you're experiencing this. 05:36.100 --> 05:39.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I don't think President Trump meant to do this. We hope he didn't mean to do this. 05:41.900 --> 05:45.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% It's so important that our commander in chief stand by members of the military. We talked a 05:47.333 --> 05:50.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% lot about lethality during this campaign. And it's really hard for members of the military 05:50.266 --> 05:54.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% to be ready to serve if they're worried about the Taliban injuring their parents. 05:54.633 --> 05:57.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Shawn VanDiver of AfghanEvac, thank you for your time. 05:57.900 --> 05:59.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% SHAWN VANDIVER: Thank you. Have a great day.