WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before Congress in June 2026 that the U.S. is seeking third countries to resettle more than 1,000 Afghan allies who have been stranded in Qatar for over a year. Rubio said, “We’re obviously operating right now under a directive that prohibits the entry of Afghans into the United States.” The policy stems from executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump in January 2025.
Rubio told lawmakers that U.S. officials have been “engaging every single day” on the issue and that several nations have expressed willingness to accept some of the Afghans waiting in Qatar. “I don’t think there’s one country that’s going to take all 1,000, but it has to be countries that are willing to assume some of this responsibility and numbers that are manageable to them, but also places that give more options to these individuals that they would be comfortable going to,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers questioned why the U.S. has not admitted hundreds of vetted Afghan allies, including interpreters and relatives of American service members. Representative Grace Meng pressed Rubio on reports that Congo was among the countries under consideration, calling such a move “a death sentence” given the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo and an active Ebola outbreak. Meng asked, “Can we rule out deporting people to conflict zones?”
Rubio responded that he does not think any of the potential host countries would qualify as conflict zones, though he acknowledged the difficulty lies in finding nations willing to accept large numbers. He added, “We’ve already assumed a lot of Afghan refugees, as you said, you have them in your district. We’ve already assumed a large number in the past.”
Advocates argue that without third-country resettlement, these Afghans face likely reprisal if returned to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, who leads the coalition #AfghanEvac, said, “These are not strangers. They are the spouses, the children, and the parents of men and women wearing our uniform right now.” He added, “We told them, with the full faith of the United States, that if they stood with us we would stand with them. That promise did not come with an expiration date, and it did not come with conditions.” According to VanDiver, negotiations with countries including Botswana and Malaysia began months before Rubio’s June 2026 testimony.