US Lawmakers Criticize Plan to Relocate ‘Afghan Allies’ from Qatar to Congo
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Several members of the U.S. Congress have sharply criticized a reported Trump administration plan to transfer Afghan nationals who worked alongside U.S. forces from a facility in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Representatives Gregory Meeks and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, senior Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the proposal could put lives at risk and undermine U.S. credibility.
The New York Times, citing official sources, reported that Washington is in talks to relocate more than 1,100 Afghans currently housed at Camp As Sayliyah, a former U.S. military base in Qatar, either to the Democratic Republic of Congo or back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The group includes interpreters, former Afghan special forces personnel, and their families who supported U.S. troops during the two-decade war. Around 400 are women and children, the report said. The U.S. government brought them to the facility in late 2024 and promised a pathway to resettlement in the United States if they passed additional security checks.
In their statement, the lawmakers said the proposal would force the individuals into “an impossible choice” between returning to Afghanistan under the Taliban rule or relocating to a country facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
“These individuals stood with the United States throughout a 20-year war, many serving alongside American troops in combat,” they said, adding that Washington had committed to protect them following the Taliban’s return to power.
“Abandoning that commitment not only betrays our allies, it sends a dangerous message to future partners that U.S. promises cannot be trusted,” the lawmakers said.
They called on Republican colleagues to join Democrats in urging the administration to use national interest waiver authority to admit vetted Afghans and honour U.S. commitments.
Other lawmakers, including Representatives Scott Peters, Dan Goldman, Grace Meng, Bennie G. Thompson, and Ami Bera, also criticized the plan, calling it a betrayal of “Afghan allies” who risked their lives supporting U.S. forces. Bera described the proposal as a “cruel betrayal” and urged the administration to reverse course.
Meanwhile, Afghans at the camp stated in a joint statement that they had not been formally informed about any relocation decisions and had learned of the Congo plan through media reports. “We are not told where we are going. We are not told when we are going,” they said.
They said they did not want to move to Congo, citing security concerns, lack of legal status, and unfamiliarity with the country. “We have been in enough war,” the statement said. “We cannot take our children into another one.”
The group also ruled out returning to Afghanistan, warning they could face retaliation from the Taliban due to their past work with U.S. forces. “This is not a fear. This is a fact,” they said, adding that U.S. authorities were aware of the risks they would face.
More than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States since 2021 following the Taliban’s return to power, but thousands remain in third countries, including Qatar and Pakistan, awaiting decisions on their cases.
The uncertainty has grown since November 2025, when the U.S. government suspended its humanitarian visa programme for Afghan nationals after the killing of a member of the U.S. National Guard by an Afghan citizen in Washington, leaving many applicants in limbo.
The proposed relocation to Congo comes as the Trump administration faces ongoing pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups to resume the processing of Afghan cases and establish clearer pathways for former U.S. allies seeking resettlement.
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