This commentary is by Dan Barkhuff. He is an ER physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center, a former Navy SEAL, the founder of Veterans For Responsible Leadership, and the co-founder of the Vermont Afghan Alliance.
Thousands of Vermonters served in our nation’s longest war, which ended in 2021 with the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Four Vermonters gave the last full measure of devotion to this country, killed in combat in that country. The men and women we sent into harm’s way, with the Vermont National Guard’s deployments through the years, in addition to Vermonters serving full time on active duty, were helped in their dangerous work by Indigenous Afghan forces fighting alongside them. When Kabul fell, many of these Afghan men and their families were stranded in Afghanistan at grave risk of death or imprisonment.
Since 2021 more than 500 Afghans have resettled in Vermont, including hundreds of men who courageously served alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan. At the Vermont Afghan Alliance, a 501c3 charitable organization dedicated to welcoming these new Americans as they escape brutal Taliban rule, we have been working day and night to find housing, teach English and driving, as well as provide individualized case management tailored to each individual refugee’s situation.
The Trump presidency has taken direct aim at Vermont veterans and our Afghan friends through moral injury: to force us to back away from promises made. Earlier this month, federal grants which the Vermont Afghan Alliance depends on to serve this community, were frozen. The freeze was later rescinded, but the future of the funding is still up in the air.
These Afghan allies risked their lives and the safety of their families to support U.S. missions. In return for their invaluable service, the U.S. government promised them relocation to the United States and the opportunity to reunite with their families here in Vermont. Unfortunately, almost three years later, many of these promises remain unfulfilled. Many of our refugees worry about ever seeing their families again. Some have taken the massive risk of returning to Afghanistan covertly at great personal cost and danger. Some have been subsequently imprisoned by Taliban courts.
The election of President Trump and his Project 2025 agenda has stopped all refugee admissions to the United States and specifically calls for the halt of Temporary Protected Status visas and the stripping of such status. Under Trump and Project 2025, the executive branch has now completely shut down new immigration applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if applications become “excessive.” Of course, what is excessive is not defined.
The men and women who walked foot patrols in Helmand and Khost alongside Vermonters may never see their families again if Donald Trump and Stephen Miller have their way. These are men and women who were promised a new life in America with their families. Trump has hung these men and women out to dry. We need help, and we need it now.
At the end of the day, we’re Vermonters, and up here, our word is our bond. At the Vermont Afghan Alliance, we’re not backing down from the challenge.
Please, learn about the circumstances of your new neighbors. Take a minute and read about or work at our website. Insist on an “Afghan exception” to the coming draconian immigration policies. It’s the right thing to do, as Americans, and as Vermonters.Â
Read the story on VTDigger here: Dan Barkhuff: Keep the promises made to the Afghans who assisted Vermont veterans.