Shutdown of CARE Office: End of US Commitment to Afghanistani Refugees

DIDPress: Staff dismissal at the U.S. office coordinating the resettlement of Afghanistani refugees has sparked intense backlash.

The U.S. State Department has shuttered the Coordinator for Afghanistan Relocation Efforts (CARE) office as part of a new structural overhaul, terminating dozens of employees. The move has drawn widespread condemnation from migrant rights activists and civil society groups.

Shawn VanDiver, head of the advocacy group AfghanEvac, which supports Afghanistani refugees in the U.S., denounced the decision on social media as “a symbol of the U.S. government’s moral collapse,” warning that it jeopardizes the lives and futures of countless Afghanistani refugees.

He emphasized that many Afghanistani migrants evacuated after the U.S. withdrawal still live in precarious conditions, making the closure of a key coordinating body deeply alarming.

Officially framed as part of a broader State Department downsizing—with over 1,300 administrative personnel cut—U.S. media report the move aligns with the Trump administration’s federal shrinkage agenda.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the restructuring, asserting it was “necessary to enhance efficiency and diplomatic performance.”