Reviewing Afghan Evacuation and Resettlement

Share

OpinioJuris, 16 December 2025

This article, the former chief legal counsel for Task Force Liberty, as part of Operation Allies Welcome, the US mission to evacuate and resettle Afghan refugees reviews the three different pathways (bespoke legislation, refugee admissions, discretionary parole) through which, since 2021, nearly 200,000 Afghans have been admitted into the United States and the policy justifications for evacuation and resettlement, all now in danger after recent slashes by the Trump administration. He also briefly looks at countries like Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and South Korea.

The author concludes: “Holding a moral responsibility to Afghan partners was the primary, and often the only, policy justification offered by government officials to evacuate and resettle Afghans. (…) Finally, the question of moral obligation deserves further consideration today.”