Immigration Applications From Afghan Nationals Halted
On Wednesday, two National Guard members in DC were shot by an Afghan national (see NPR and the Guardian). In response, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services announced that they had stopped processing immigration applications from ALL Afghan nationals “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.” CVRAN and the Vermont Afghan Alliance sent out the following statement in response.
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November 26, 2025
Burlington, Vt. – The Vermont Afghan Alliance and the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network released the following statement:
“The latest proposed action from the Presidential Administration regarding refugees is a truly disheartening one. What the administration describes, a reopening and review by USCIS of over 200,000 refugee cases dating from January 2021 to February of this year, would be devastating to a group in this country that has already been faced with mounting challenges this year. Refugees, after leaving their homes due to any number of destabilizing factors including war and persecution, receive a tremendous amount of vetting before entering the United States, providing little legitimate basis for a blanket review such as the one outlined by USCIS. Moving forward with this action would not only be a highly impractical use of government resources, it would also send hundreds of thousands of people in this country into a place of uncertainty and fear, with extreme consequences for those who do not meet the government’s new standards.
As organizations dedicated to serving the refugee population in Vermont, we are deeply opposed this proposed action. We will continue to work alongside refugees, who have only made our communities stronger and more vibrant.”