Trump says he will help Afghans stuck in the UAE
Trump, a Republican who promised a far-reaching immigration crackdown, suspended refugee resettlement after he took office in January.
In April, Trump's administration terminated temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghans in the US.
"I will try to save them, starting right now," Trump said in a post on Truth Social that linked to an article on the Afghans held in limbo there.
Trump cited news website Just the News as saying that UAE officials were preparing to hand over some Afghan refugees to the Taliban.
Reuters has not confirmed the report.
The UAE, a close security partner of the United States, agreed in 2021 to temporarily house several thousand Afghans relocated from Kabul as the Taliban ousted the US-backed government during the final stages of the US-led withdrawal.
Nearly 200,000 Afghans were brought to the US by former president Joe Biden's administration since the chaotic US troop withdrawal from Kabul.
Canada agreed in 2022 to resettle about 1000 of the Afghans still held in the UAE after a US request.
It is unclear how many remain in the Gulf country.
Some countries have forced Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan.
Nearly two million Afghans were returned from Iran and Pakistan in the past seven months, the United Nations said last week.
Germany on Friday deported 81 Afghan men to Afghanistan amid a tightening of refugee admissions.
Some other European Union countries are pushing to tighten asylum rules in the bloc.
In the United States, Democrats have urged Trump to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government in place since 2021.
Refugees include children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the US government during the 20-year war.
Shawn VanDiver, president of the #AfghanEvac advocacy group, urged Trump to follow up on his post with action.
"President Trump has the authority to do the right thing. He should instruct DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the Department of State to expedite processing, push for third-country partnerships, and ensure that we never again leave our wartime allies behind," he said in a statement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Congratulations traitor': A-League ref attacked by Iran after Trump photo
A-League referee Alireza Faghani has been labelled a 'traitor' by the Iranian government through a series of posters criticising him for exchanging pleasantries with Donald Trump after the FIFA Club World Cup final. Faghani, who migrated from Iran to Australia in 2019 for family reasons, has long been considered one of football's top officials and was given the job of refereeing last week's Club World Cup final in New Jersey, which Chelsea won 3-0 over Paris Saint-Germain. But his post-match interaction with the US president, who presented the trophy to Chelsea's players and then controversially remained on stage with them as they lifted it for the first time, has not gone down well in his former country. Trump also shook hands with the match officials, presented them with their medals and, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, posed together in photos with Faghani and his assistants, in which all of them made thumbs up gestures. For this, Faghani has attracted the ire of Iranian state media and the city of Qom, south of Tehran, where posters based on one of the pictures of him standing with Trump have been erected, along with the message: 'Congratulations on your medal, traitor.' The picture has been digitally altered, replacing Faghani's medal with a potato. Below are the logos of the Qom Municipality and the region's cultural, artistic, and sports organisation. The Fars News Agency reportedly wrote on its Telegram channel on Saturday: 'Just days after the Israeli and American attack on Iranian soil and the martyrdom of over a thousand Iranians, Alireza Faghani warmly greeted Trump after receiving his award and mimicked his pose in the commemorative photo.' The commentator covering the Club World Cup final on Iranian state television avoided using Faghani's name, referring to him instead as 'the referee', and the live broadcast of the ceremony was also abruptly cut short, according to reports.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Murdoch has picked a side – but not the one we expected
Rupert Murdoch has demonstrated that one is never too old to be unpredictable. At 94, he has swerved into a new political lane with his willingness to punch an oversized dent in Donald Trump's armour – using his most credible news organ, The Wall Street Journal. In doing so, Murdoch is asserting his media mogul credentials – that he is more important or will outlive any elected political leader. It represents a significant U-turn for Murdoch, who has publicly supported the president since his election and was seated in Trump's VIP box for the FIFA Club World Cup only a week ago. For Murdoch, whose partisan loyalties are seen to be dictated by his balance sheet interests as much as his political hue, steering out of the Trump lane seems in equal part risky and brave. But it's less risky than Elon Musk's move to harpoon Trump by publicly criticising the president's Big Beautiful Bill and threatening to create a new American political party. In doing so, Musk aimed his sights squarely at his own foot. Murdoch's gamble appears way more considered and one that demonstrates he has read the room far better than Musk. Loading He effectively shirt-fronted Trump last week by green-lighting the WSJ to publish a letter from Trump to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that allegedly contained a drawing of a naked woman on which Trump's signature features prominently, with a message wishing that 'every day be another wonderful secret'. For Murdoch, it is a gamble on how much self-inflicted damage Trump has done to his brand with his trenchant determination to keep the Epstein file under wraps. Trump's entreaties to Murdoch and others inside the company to spike the story went nowhere. Then Trump made good on his knee-jerk social media response to 'sue his [Murdoch's] ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper' with a legal libel claim seeking $US10 billion in damages.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump has survived many scandals, but the Epstein story poses a new test
Nearly two weeks after US President Donald Trump and his administration announced they had nothing more to say about Jeffrey Epstein's criminal case, the topic continues to dog him, presenting a potential new political liability at the six-month mark of his presidency as Trump tries to sell more Americans on his accomplishments. The uproar around Epstein escalated last Thursday with a report in The Wall Street Journal that refocused attention on Trump's relationship with the disgraced late financier. It's the latest scandal to touch a public figure who has weathered many of them, both in and out of office, yet managed to return to Washington after his 2020 defeat with even more power than before. Despite the clamour surrounding Epstein from within the president's political base and beyond, there is no indication so far that this is the scandal that will sink Trump any more than the Access Hollywood tape of 2016, or being found guilty in a criminal trial last year over hush money payments to a porn star. Trump won presidential elections after both. Law enforcement agencies have not accused Trump of any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and he has never been identified as a target of any associated investigation. But Epstein clearly has posed a problem for the White House. At a minimum, it has been a distraction at a time when Trump wants to tout his legislative victories. If it continues to grab public attention, it could pose a more significant threat at a time when Trump's standing with the public has already been on the decline, though polling shows him steady with his own party. Loading Trump lashed out at the Journal 's story after it was published, threatening to sue the newspaper and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, who has been an important, although inconstant, political ally. The next day, he filed a libel lawsuit in federal court in southern Florida, alleging the article defamed him. Trump's handling of concerns related to Epstein, the wealthy child sex predator who died in jail in 2019, recently provoked a rare eruption among the president's most loyal supporters, prompting MAGA leaders to caution that some in Trump's base could become disillusioned enough to sit out the midterm elections. Many Americans believe the US government has hidden information on possible associates of Epstein who may also have committed sex crimes against minors. Some have questioned the official ruling that Epstein's death was a suicide.
