
WXXI News
President Trump signed an executive order that suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, pausing most refugee admissions.
Keeping Our Promise is a Rochester-based organization that has helped bring hundreds of Afghan allies and their families to Western New York. Suddenly the promise of a new life in the United States is in jeopardy.
President Trump has canceled flights for 1,660 Afghan refugees who had previously been cleared by the U.S. government, according to Reuters. Some are children; some fought for the former U.S.-backed government.
Now there are questions about how this order could affect Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, or SIVs, as well as other refugee groups.
We discuss the implications of these actions with our guests:
- Ellen Smith, founder and executive director of Keeping Our Promise
- Getachew Bashir, director of the Refugee Department at Catholic Charities Family and Community Services
- General John Bradley, retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and co-founder of the Lamia Afghan Foundation
- Shawn VanDiver, president and chairman of #AfghanEvac