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Democrats urge Rubio to rescue a refugee program he once supported
But the Democrats say this kind of assistance to refugees does not qualify as “foreign development assistance,” since it helps people in the United States rather than abroad.
Congressional Democrats are appealing to Marco Rubio to restart refugee resettlement services — something the new Secretary of State supported as a Republican senator from Florida — after the Trump administration issued stop work orders to halt programs, Politico reported.
In a letter, a group of lawmakers urged their former colleague to use his leverage to undo the pause on Reception and Placement services, which help refugees rebuild in the U.S, the newspaper reported.
On the first day of his administration, President Donald Trump moved to suspend the entire U.S. Refugee Admissions Program until further notice and issued a pause on “foreign development assistance.”
But the Democrats say this kind of assistance to refugees does not qualify as “foreign development assistance,” since it helps people in the United States rather than abroad.
They also cite the 32,000 refugees that relocated to the U.S. through the Refugee Admissions Program in fiscal year 2025 — a number of whom are still eligible for assistance through the R&P program — in addition to the many Afghan nationals now in the country who aided U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and are now also eligible for help.
“The stop work orders undermine legal obligations that the Department has entered into through its contracts with U.S.-based and intergovernmental organizations, increasing new arrivals’ vulnerability to homelessness and food insecurity at a time when they still have no lifeline for support,” the members wrote.
Signers of the letter are the top Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committee — Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, respectively — alongside the ranking members of each panel’s immigration subcommittee — Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Sen. Alex Padilla of California.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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